If Ron Howard's in, So Am I

Usually, I'm not a big fan of Stephen King movies. I (generally) like his books. I absolutely loved the Dark Tower series. But usually his books don't translate well to film.

Looks as if Roland and company will be going to celluloid. Ron Howard will be directing. That means it'll be worth seeing.

I'm really excited and looking forward to this.

Femtroopers (and other funny Star Wars stuff)

Long time, no see.

This shirt is available here

My favorite :)

I'm Sure This Comes as a Surprise to No One

Japan sending a humanoid robot to the moon

I just wonder if it will be one of the human-looking, sex-crazed girl-bots or a super-sized transformer type.

No More Lamp?

Paramount passes on Anchorman 2

That's a shame. It's one of the few Will Ferrel movies I actually enjoyed. Maybe another studio will pick it up.

Update: My bad, didn't read all the way down. Can't be moved to another studio. Suck.

If You Don't Know About This...

...You might want to look into it.

Google “Massachusetts data security law, 201 CMR 17.00” and you’ll find plenty of facts about the new law. I also encourage you to read InformationWeek’s "States' Rights Come to Security Forefront: Massachusetts' new data protection law reaches beyond its borders. Are you ready?" It’s one of the best summaries I’ve seen. But even it falls short of helping you understand the profound impact of this law.

Here are the basics of the new law. If you have personally identifiable information (PII) about a Massachusetts resident, such as a first and last name, then you have to encrypt that data on the wire and as it’s persisted. Sending PII over HTTP instead of HTTPS? That’s a big no no. Storing the name of a customer in SQL Server without the data being encrypted? No way, Jose. You’ll get a fine of $5,000 per breach or lost record. If you have a database that contains 1,000 names of Massachusetts residents and lose it without the data being encrypted that’s $5,000,000. Yikes.

So if you or your company carries any PII for ANY Massachussetts resident, you may want to check into your encryption for your databases (and of course websites). Also, be sure to read further down for information concerning laptops in MA. Ouch!

Had to Chuckle at This

via Imgur

Have You Met My Friend Harvey?

That's a big, damn rabbit.

Virtually Dumb

Joystiq looks at IdeaFactory's new game, My Wife: A Bride Just For You.

While my own bride would probably not be thrilled with me bringing another woman into the house (even if she was just virtual), I'm curious if she herself would play it.... My wife is a gamer, and generally likes these sim type games. Hmmmmm....

Would it be worth the arguments of "You pay more attention to your virtual wife than you do me!" just to see if she would play it?

Nah. Probably not.

New Last Airbender Trailer

Pay attention at the beginning and you can catch Appa!

That's a Spicy Meatball

So what do you do with the world's largest laser? You try to jump start your own mini-star right on the surface of the Earth.

Not that I don't trust them or anything, but I'm glad they're conducting this experiment on the other side of the country.

That's a Badge My Son Would Get Hands Down

Boy Scouts Offer New Merit Pin -- for Video Gaming

It's a shame he's never shown the slightest interest in joining the Boy Scouts. I always wanted to do it as a kid, but my parents didn't have the time. I've offered several times to take him, but he's never wanted to go.

Go figure.

I Think I'll Put This on Everything!

Night vision coming to cell phones, eyeglasses

Adapting technology found in flat screen television sets, scientists have created a thin film that converts infrared light into visible light. The technology could give cell phones, eyeglasses and car windshields cheap, lightweight night vision.

Killer!

Flying to Uzbekistan?

You may want to reconsider when you see their slogan.

via Seattle Weekly Blogs

Causing Some U-Turns

Attack of the Show does a charity fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation...using ladies dressed up like Slave-girl Leia at a car wash.

Now why can't they do something like this in my town?

Maybe My Doctor Should Have Prescibed This

Brazil health minister prescribes more sex
Sex and dancing could help remedy high blood pressure, official urges

See, honey? If you really want to keep me around longer, perhaps you should consider keeping me around longer. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

Nothing New

Years ago, I took a philosophy class in college where we discussed the political and social questions of a "national" language for the United States. As you can imagine, there was absolutely no consensus.

Then as now, I know I'm not for a national language. I think it sort of defeats the purpose. You know, the whole "land of the free" thing. They come here to be free, not forced into a mold that is stamped "average American" on the side.

I'm seeing lots of reporting on this subject and others that lie along the same vein. This has especially been stirred up by Arizona.

'This Is Alabama. We Speak English.'
'Arizona Is The Meth Lab Of Democracy' (VIDEO)
The Arizona of 2010 Is the Alabama of 1963

Obviously there are a lot of sore feelings about these issues on both sides. I'm not saying I know the solution (or even a solution). All I'm saying is, these are not new issues. This has been floating around for a loooooong time. Much longer than that class I took 20 years ago.

Part of being a member of the Land of the Free is not only having the right to question things, but having the responsibility to question. I'm glad these issues are being discussed. I just wish people would leave off rhetoric and discuss things more rationally (pipe-dream, I know).

I'm still not certain where I stand on these issues. I'm torn and divided, much like our country. Maybe we both can find a consensus within us at some point.

That's What My Research Said

Who makes the most reliable laptops? by CNET

The conclusion? Asus

That was my conclusion as well. I just bought two Asus laptops for my wife and myself, but before I purchased, I read a ton of reviews, both professional and private. Most of the ones I read were very favorable, and the information I dug up showed a very low failure rate. And when they did fail, Asus was on the ball to get replacements out.

On some of the reviews I read where people had problems, an Asus representative would answer asking if they could help them (on non-Asus sites). That's customer service!

So far, I'm thrilled with mine. My only problem isn't an issue with Asus, but rather how Windows 7 64-bit interacts with Firefox 32-bit. It causes lock-ups on occassion. Annoying, but not caused by the hardware itself.

Shiny

UGO wants a Firefly video game, like now.

I completely agree. Would it be better than Star Wars? Yeah, it probably would.

3G, 4G, WTH?

Confused by all the 3G and 4G and other technobabble being spun around by cell companies?

Yeah, me too. I've read things that say 3G and 4G are the same thing, but are different due to marketing "speak." Admittedly, I've read all kinds of crazy s**t.

Cellphones.org has put out a nice infographic that explains...er, that would take too long. They sum up.

I Still Won't Watch Generations

Let me be unequivocably clear: I hate Star Trek: Generations. I think it's one of the worst of a bad series of movies. The should've stopped with the Undiscovered Country (though they should never have let Shatner direct V). What really put the cork in the genie's bottle for me was how they killed Kirk.

I mean, come on! Kirk! This dude had been saving the galaxy for years, and they drop a bridge on him? He still had his shirt on for cryin' out loud! (Though I am thankful for this, as Bill has achieved late-middle-age spread admirably and does not cut quite the dashing figure of his youth)

Kirk is/was the ultimate survivor. He delighted in "cheating death". It's what he did, it was in his job description. If they had to drop a planet on him to kill him, that would've been OK, but a bridge? How 'bout that "I've always known I'll die alone" thing? He wasn't exactly alone now was he? Jean Luc Picard may not be the most commanding presence in the room, but he does indeed qualify as another presence (don't get me wrong, I think Patrick Stewart is an amazing actor - I just dislike Picard. It's a fan-of-the-original-series thing.).

Cracked looks at the 5 Worst Deaths Written for Great Characters (and Why).

I think Kirk should've gotten top-billing.

Conan & Carry Perform Superman

Watch it for the comedy, not the singing.

The New Coin-Ops

When I was a wee lad, working one of my first jobs at a pizza shop, after hours I would spend hours with the other cooks dropping what little money I had earned into Galaga or Ms. Pac-Man or various other coin-operated machines.

While they can't even compare to modern games in terms of graphics and depth, they more than made up for it with playability.  They were loads of fun to play, even if they were repetitive.

Gamepro compares games in social media sites (like Farmville or Mafia Wars) to the old coin-ops. 

You know what?  They've got a point.

Be Careful Out There Today: Boobquake Alert

Shame they didn't give more notice on this.

After prominent Iranian cleric Kazem Sedighi said that women’s immodesty increases earthquakes, a Purdue University student named Jen McCreight created a Facebook event called “Boobquake,” calling for the women of the world to wear their most revealing outfits on Monday, April 26.

How-to: Blu-Ray Phaser

Modification is done using the Playmates brand, 1994 Classic Star Trek Phaser.

Important: Most of the people here at LPF already understand the potential eye hazards involved with something like this. But for those who are new to lasers, this modification can damage the eye instantly with a direct shot or reflection. Proper eye protection for 405nm wave length is recommended. And extreme caution needed when using. I would recommend storing it in a lockable case so that it cannot be accessed by just any person or child...

Sweet! I kinda want one, but I think it would be dangerous with my kids (not to mention having to take a part a blu-ray player).

Nimoy Retires

Leonard Nimoy Hangs Up His Spock Ears

Leonard Nimoy, the actor who has famously portrayed "Star Trek's" original alien Spock for over 40 years, has announced he's officially hanging up the pointy Vulcan ears for good.

Nimoy, 79, plans to retire shortly from show business and the "Star Trek" convention circuit, according to the Canadian newspaper Toronto Sun.

The actor, director and photographer will be attending the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend, and told the paper that beyond this event he only has a few more public appearances scheduled.

Kick Ass Review

Some buddies and I went to see Kick Ass last night. One of those buddies was Uncle of SaysUncle. I'll get to that more in a moment.

It was enjoyable, but I doubt I'll ever see it again. It was a nice interpretation/parody of the usual super-hero flick. They leaned heavily on Spiderman, but it was well written. The main hero was very "blah" to me. I really couldn't empathize much with him. The story was ok, but since it was all parody or derivative, wasn't terribly imaginative. Comedy-wise it has some great moments, but they keep trying to sprinkle in some serious moments that just kill the mood.

The star attraction for me was Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz. Cage was fantastic in his whacked-out way. And Chloe Moretz completely stole the movie. She has the best line out of the entire film!

Dave Lizewski: [from trailer] How do I get a hold of you?
Hit Girl: [sarcastically] You just contact the mayor's office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky; it's in the shape of a giant cock!

What was weird, while sitting there watching, when Cage and Moretz were on the screen, myself and the other 2 guys with me kept looking at Uncle and saying how much alike he was to Cage's character, and how Moretz reminded us of Jr. So, if you really want to get a glimpse of the real Uncle, I do recommend seeing this one. :D

Glad That's Over

I think we finally have about all the computers affected by that thing with McAfee taken care of. There may be a few stragglers come next week, but we're fairly confident that the worst is over.

Steve Jobs Was Wrong, You Can Get Porn on the iPhone

Assuming you port it over to the Android OS.

McAfee Sucks, Update

We're still recovering from that bad update McAfee sent out yesterday. We'll probably spend the rest of the week trying to fix all this mess.

McAfee Sucks

I don't know if your organization uses McAfee, but the branch of .gov I work for surely does. We've been down all day.

Looks like the only fix is via sneakernet, too. Suck.

Resistance is Futile

Professors want to ban laptops from their classes because they're too big a temptation for the student to "goof off" instead of paying attention.

You know what? If you're students are having trouble concentrating on what you are saying, then you're probably teaching poorly.

I go to school. I do it ENTIRELY online. I don't have a problem concentrating on the lessons or the information. Why? I get to do it at my own pace. If I have questions, I set up a time to discuss with the professor or I seek my classmates help. I'm not locked in a room for an hour-and-a-half listening to someone with tenure drone on and on. I'd probably goof off, too, if I were.

Schools and professors need to figure out a way to grab the student's attention and make the lessons more interesting, or go the way of online schools and allow students to learn at their own pace. Perhaps instead of less computers, add one for each student, letting them learn at those workstations instead of listening to a boring lecture.

Regardless, the genie is out of the bottle. Even if you ban laptops, how are you going to ban cell phones? My Droid is everybit of the computer a laptop is. I can do virtually anything on it that I can on a full-size. How can you ban that? You can try, but it won't matter.

It's best to figure out a way to work with and take advantage of new technology rather than trying to restrict it.

Notepad++ Devs Have a Great Sense of Humor (I Think...)

via Notepad++

Cheat Sheets

Handy listing of programming language cheat sheets

I'm so bookmarking this site.

I Kinda Want One: Retro-tech

This would look cool on my bookcase (though I would undoubtably get an arguement from the Mrs. about that). The picture was via this story.

Brain Drain

I heard about this yesterday on the radio as I was heading home. I'm not the least bit surprised that researchers have found that brain exercising software doesn't actually benefit cognition.

Why am I not surprised? Because these programs were written for a broad base of people and had absolutely no scientific approach as to how or why they might help cognition (more pop-science). They were written as entertainment being sold as science, much like most of the "health" supplements you see on the market. It's not necessarily harmful and it makes people feel better.

Smells Like a Conspiracy

Wikileaks Facebook page was deleted.

On Their Way

The new laptops I ordered for the Mrs. and myself should arrive on Thursday.  I'm excited!

This is the first time we've purchased new computers in years and will be my first in-depth experience with Windows 7.  I've played with it on other people's systems, but now I'll get the opportunity to really take it apart.  I've heard from others that it's really stable and much faster than Vista.  While I liked Vista for the most part, it definitely had issues, memory management among them. 

So I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy, but I'm curious how soon it will be until I install Linux.  I'll be sure to make a good backup first.

How To Install Anything in Ubuntu

Nice article from Laptoplogic.com. I even learned something. :D (Who knew they were developing a way to install Mac apps?)

That’s right. You want Windows apps on your Ubuntu machine? Well, we’re not sure why, but we’ll show you how to install them anyway. How about OS X, you ask? Hmm. That’s still a geek’s dream, unfortunately. We’ve tried, we really have. It just hasn’t happened yet. Read on to find out how to install (just about) anything you want in Ubuntu.

Post-It Note Art

via Technabob.com

No That's the Guys in the Other Blue Uniforms

TSA says they don't copy and search the files on your hard drive. That's U.S. Customs and Border Protection's job.

Psychology Today Calls Conservatives Illiterate, Cousin-Humpin' Rednecks

I think I'm offended.

Not Holding My Breath

DARPA's taking a swing at getting flying cars made

DARPA has an interesting track record, but I think New Scientist got a couple of things wrong....

Al Gore invented the internet. Everyone knows that.
The mechanical elephant was freakin' awesome. I don't care who you are.

Ode de Bruce

Bruce Willis releasing his own fragrance

I hope it smells like gunpowder and sweat with just a hint of blood. I'd buy some.

Well That's Stupid

Last night we hosted my son's scholars bowl team and families for a little party. Mostly everything went alright, but seeing the kids interact and play together was enlightening.

These kids are all in 4th and 5th grades. There are 7 kids total on the team, and a few of their siblings came to the party as well. My son, who is in the 4th grade, is the youngest member of the team. (Yes, I'm very proud of him!)

One of the older kids (we'll call him Steve to protect the innocent and everyone's feelings) was bossing all the other children around. Now I understand that someone has to lead, but this kid was going waaaay beyond that. One time, when all the boys were playing in my son's room, I overheard him saying "Pokemon and Bakugan are stupid." Now these are two of my son's favorite things. I kept my thoughts to myself and kept walking.

Later, this kid was doing everything in his power to impress his parents, both of whom basically ignored him. When I said he did everything possible, that included beating down children while "swordfighting" with Nerf swords and shouting "Now THAT is how you win a swordfight!" over and over while looking at his dad who was talking to me. He continued all afternoon into the evening calling anything anyone else liked as "stupid" and using his larger size to intimidate and overpower the other children while his parents ignored him.

I was saddened and a little bit sickened.

My son was very upset by all of this, but was trying to be a good trooper and not say anything about how this kid was hurting his feelings.

I waited until this-morning and decided that I should talk to him about this. I took him to his room and began with telling him how sorry I felt for this kid. "Steve" seems to need to put everyone else down in order to make himself feel better. I expressed this idea to my son, and I could see that I'd given him something to think about. He didn't say it, but I could tell he felt better.

I know this is just part of growing up, but I hope this helps give him a different viewpoint on people who spend their time tearing others down. While you may not like what they do, with a little empathy, you can understand why they do it. It doesn't make it right, but if you understand why they do what they do, you can figure out a way to shut them down or shut them up.

I hope my son will grow up to the be the better, more mature individual. He didn't chose this boy as a friend, but he did choose to be on the scholars bowl team. He's shown real courage in sticking with it, even with someone as domineering and disagreable as this kid with whom he has to work. He'll have to deal with people like this his entire life, and I hope I'm giving him the skills to deal with them.

No matter what, I'll be proud of my son. He never gives up, he always tries his hardest, and I love the man he's becoming. I try my best to tell him at every opportunity, but sometimes it's easy to not hear what your parents are really saying to you.

Innocent Until Predicted Guilty

The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice is using IBM's predicitve analytics software to determine which of today's juvenile delinquents will commit further (and worse) crimes in the future.

Ouch. Oh, this is such an amazingly bad idea.

Gizmodo looks at the issue in-depth.

Hand Over Fist

Blizzard is raking it in again in World of Warcraft.

Yesterday, they offered the Celestial Steed for sale at $25. This "pet" allows players to fly in the game at whatever flight speed they have the skill for.

Well, they sold about 80,000 of the little jewels yesterday. Yep, that's $2,000,000. At the time of the story, they were averaging $500,000 per hour in sales.

And who says micropayments in games won't work?

He's Dead, Jim

It's official. My laptop is no longer among the functioning. The 80Gb hard drive only reports 63Gb and most of that can't be read.

It's a Lenovo, so I don't have recovery disks. The recovery software is on a partition on the hard drive, and it seems to be corrupted as well. When I try to run the system recovery, it starts and then crashes.

I'm sorry to see this system go. It's been a stalwart companion for 5 years (it's a T61) and has served me and mine well.

Yes, I could replace the hard drive and purchase a new OS to put on it, but it's likely that I probably wouldn't get more than another year's use out of it anyway. It's been having thermal issues with the GPU and CPU recently, which are probably contributing factors to the hard drive's ultimate demise. Luckily, I had everything backed up, so I've lost no data, just an old friend.

Since my wife's computer has been acting up of late as well, I think we'll just replace both old workhorses at the same time.

As before, I wanted a system with the little joystick on the keyboard, but I'm lowering my standards as far as that goes.

I went shopping again, and after looking at what would be best for our needs (light word processing, internet surfing, some light programming, and some possibly heavy gaming), I found these from Asus. [How do you pronounce "Asus" anyway? I've always pronounced it "Ay-suzhz", but my co-workers here pronounce it "aa-Zues".]

The reviews seem really good, and while I've never had an Asus laptop, I've had plenty of their motherboards (they were my preferred brand when I still built desktops) and a few of their graphics cards. I've always been pleased with their quality and customer service.

If the wife agrees (and doesn't pass out from sticker shock), we'll be ordering two of these in the near future.

Computer Fall Down, Go Boom

My laptop's hard drive decided to eat itself last night. Was up til midnight trying to set it back to right. I'll be working on it during today, so don't be surprised if I'm rather quiet.

Stupid laptop.

Good Security

via Imgur

Sadly I Know People Who Would Appreciate This

Holy Bible: Stock Car Racing Edition

The Best Droid App Ever

Why You Dress So Funny?

During my years in IT, I've worn many hats (metaphorically speaking). As in any other job, you dress for the role you play. I was basically "attacked" earlier (spoken to quite harshly) by someone very high up in .gov for the way I've dressed today.

Allow me to describe my ensemble: Button up, short-sleeve tan South Seas Tiki Lounge shirt (with accompanying graphics on left breast and back), blue jeans, and white Nike running shoes. This is well within our loosely defined dress code, and while it may not be considered "professional", it does serve a purpose, as I demonstrated (more below).

This official (she's a .gov director, so how official she really is is open to debate) seemed offended at my attire. She spoke to my Big Boss while he stood with us as I prepared a loaner laptop for her about my lack of professionalism. She basically harangued this poor man for letting his employees dress "this way."

I cleared my throat and said, "M'am, if I could explain, the reason that I'm dressed this way is primarily phsychological." While she looked at me like a bug under a microscope, that did get her attention enough to allow me to proceed.

"While I may not be in a button down, slacks, and tie, this actually serves the purpose of putting my customers at ease. If I'm dressed in a way that is less formal than themselves, they aren't competing with me on a subconscious level and do not see me as a threat, thus allowing them to relax. Also, this mode of dress serves to remind them subliminally of vacation, allowing them to relax even further. I dress this way in order to instill a sense of comraderie, understanding, and empathy, like I'm an old friend. While my customers may not look forward to seeing me, as this means thier computer is broken, nor do they dread the encounter as I do everything I can to make the experience less painful. I want to put them at ease and let them know everything will be OK."

She thought about this for a few moments, being thoughtfully quiet while I completed the setup for her, and said that she agreed.

Later, my Big Boss came back by, gave me an "attaboy", and told me to keep up the good work.

As my wife says, there are days I could sell ice to eskimos. I don't think I'd ever really thought about the way I dressed in this fashion before (pun intended), but I'm glad it came to me at that point. I hate wearing ties.

Manic Monday

...In other words: This is why you are so tired when you get up in the morning! Turn off the damned TV when you go to sleep.

Just one "pulse" of artificial light at night disrupts circadian cell division, reveals a new study carried out by Dr. Rachel Ben-Shlomo of the University of Haifa-Oranim Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology along with Prof. Charalambos P. Kyriacou of the University of Leicester.

Interesting Theory

Does Our Universe Live Inside a Wormhole?

As a mentor of mine would say: Fascinating.

I'll Stand Up and Applaud

...if this bill, or one like it, passes.

Democrats Push to Require Corporate Campaign Disclosure

As it says, unlikely we'll see it before mid-term elections.
Let's get some of that transparency we were promised.

Remember, Hope & Change!

Keeping America Safe and Eatin' Bacon

The tag line of these photos says it all: "If you’re the kind of guy that’s just too macho to even step foot into a kitchen then fear not! Here is an easy to follow set of photographic instructions that even Forrest Gump could follow."

Awesomeness follows.

via CrazyCrackers

The Seven Dirtiest Jobs in IT

Great read from Infoworld. 

Some tech jobs are literally dirty; digging around the innards of a data center or running network cables through crawlspaces, for example, can leave you deeply in need of a shower.

I've personally done two of these jobs. Network sherpa...still laughing over this one.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Tasmanian Hookers Learn Tough Side Of Supply-And-Demand Economics.

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I just saw the headline and imagined the Tasmanian Devil in drag, or something similar below.

Sound Bullets

They must've got the idea from Uncle's old band. I won't say they were the best, but they were certainly loud.

Arstechnica looks at using sound "bullets" to create scalpels, weapons, and other applications. Pretty cool!

Luke, I am Your Daddy

via Flickr

Kung-Fu Hillbilly

Being a hillbilly myself, I found this cogent and enlightening.

Diemon Dave's Ninja School is in session. Watch this clip and learn some of Diemon Dave's kung fu secrets. Don't try this at home.

Intellectual Bankruptcy, Hollywood Style

Since Hollywood seems to be into "reboots" these days, here are a list of properties I'm surprised we haven't seen rebooted yet. After all, if they're rebooting Gilligan's Island, they'll remake anything.

• I Dream of Genie - I'm shocked this one hasn't been re-made yet. It was a fairly popular show and was on for a number of years. If they go this route, my money would be on Beyonce to play Genie.
• Black Sheep Squadron - This one could be set in the original time or updated. Lots of possibilities here.
• MacGyver - Imagine Mac with an Android. He could take over the world!
• Mork & Mindy - Loved this show, but I'm not certain who could pull off Mork besides Robin Williams.
• All in the Family - Classic comedy, but I'm not certain how you could pull it off today without offending everyone.

I'd put some others on this list, but I'm not certain what more they could say that hasn't already been done.

• MASH
• The Andy Griffith Show
• Gunsmoke

One for the Kiddo

Pokemon has announced their next generation of game: Pokemon Black & White

Warning, the site is in Japanese.

Seriously, Enough with the 3D Already

Intel guru says 3-D Internet will arrive within five years

It's just a matter of time until someone offers prescription 3D glasses. God knows we'll need them considering everthing we'll be staring at will be in 3D if folks like these have thier way.

Sweet WMD

If you're going to talk about WMD's, these are the kind you need to discuss.

Blogisimo (love the name) looks at chocolatey goodness.

Body Armor Made from T-Shirts? Yes, Please

Physorg.com looks at the new process for transforming regular t-shirt material into super body armor, ala the type of armor used on tanks.  Nice, and it's out of the University of South Carolina's research department!

iPhone OS4 All We Could Hope For

Gizmodo looks at Apple's latest offering for the iPhone (and eventually the iPad).
Some of the new features include:

• Multitasking
• Fast app switching
• Local notifications
• App folders
• New e-mail app
• iBooks
• Custom backgrounds
• Game center
• iAd advertising
• 5x digital zoom
• Bluetooth keyboards

These changes will help silence many of the detractors for both devices.  Now the question is, is it too little, too late?

Update: Spoke too soon. Apparently Steve Jobs has gone insane.

Busier Than a One Tooth Fella at a Corn Eatin' Contest

Will try to blog more in the afternoon....

If These Guys Repudiate You...

...you have to realize how messed up you are.

KKK condemns Westboro Baptist Church

I Need a Hobby

Got into a bit of a row with Mrs. Mad last night. I'm a little wound-up and apparently need a hobby.

I've been reading those Percy Jackson books and while entertaining, I don't think they constitute a "hobby". All I've done for the past 2 weeks is shuffle furniture around my house and my mom's former house. While time-consuming, this is definitely not a hobby.

I'd work in the garage on some sort of wood-working project, but I can't even fit in there right now (hence the arguement from last night).

Anyway, the Mrs. reckons I need to find a hobby. Apparently I'm roaming around all out-of-sorts due to my lack of something interesting to do.

God help me, I'm thinking of going back to Warcraft.

Where Great Britain Used to Be

Digital Economy bill passed last night.

One of the bad points of this, and there are many, is the government can block site based on "intent". Obviously, this is a little overly broad.

Smells Like Anarchy

Earlier I talked about a site that allows you to tell anecdotes about your boss. While this site is funny, it is anonymous and doesn't tell you the name of the company or individual being talked about. It's intended for humor and commiseration, not for calling someone out.

Time is looking at a different site called Unvarnished. Like RateMD or Rate My Professor, this site allows anonymous posters to tell stories out-of-class (pun intended) on their boss, co-workers, or subordinates.

While this might be a valuable tool for people looking at working for a business or for hiring a new employee, I foresee some rough moments ahead. Unvarnished allows for someone who is disgruntled (read: P-O'd) to spit on someone's reputation with no recourse. Seems dangerous.

The site isn't up yet as it's still in beta. Right now, they're using Facebook to authenticate those with beta invites (ooo-if this is connected to Facebook, that could be doubly bad).

What's That Say About Us?

The IKEA catalogue is the most widely published written work, surpassing the Bible.

The Bible is still number 1 for most purchased work, though.

Slippery Slope

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric

That's not from some right-wing, black-helicopter, conspiracy-theory-toting moon bat's website. That's from the frakin' New York Times, the bastion of Liberalism.

And that story. That's the freakin' American government authorizing the assassination of an American citizen. It doesn't matter what the man is doing, he's still a citizen and is protected by the same Constitutional rights and guarantees as you or I.

Holy crap! If the .gov starts getting into the business of assassinating American citizens who they don't like or disagree with, watch out. This is so not a good thing.

Underacheivers

via Imgur

Guilty Pleasure

We all have those movies that we like to watch when no one else is around.  You know the one I'm talking about.  We all have one.

For a buddy of mine, and I won't name names to protect the innocent, that movie is Footloose.
For me, it's The House Bunny.  I watch it everytime it comes on and the kids aren't around.  Not that it's especially objectionable, but some of the language is harsh and honestly, I'd be embarrassed to be caught watching it by my kids.

Here's my Top 10 list of Guilty Pleasure movies:

1. The House Bunny - Argueably my favorite movie on the list.  I have no idea why it's so entertaining to me, but I really do watch it everytime it comes on.

2. Flash Gordon - This was the very first movie my family ever rented on video casette back in the day (you rented movies for a week at a time then).  I must've watched this movie a dozen times that week.  I've loved it ever since.

3. Steel Magnolias (only for the scenes with Olivia Dukakis and Shirly McClane) - OK, really guilty pleasure here.  I don't actively seek this movie, but if my wife is watching it, I'll sit down with her.  Or if she's in the other room and I notice it, I'll turn it on, yell for her, and let her know I'm thinking about her.

4. Ghost - This is probably the sappiest movie ev-ah.  I saw this in college with a friend who happened to look a lot like Demi Moore.  Unfortunately, I looked nothing like Patrick Swayze.

5. Road House (sensing a Patrick Swayze thing here) - This movie has it all:  Violence, martial arts, cool old cars, boobs, rock & roll, and Sam Elliott.   So why is it such an amazingly bad film?  I still love it, though.

6. Once Bitten - The very first movie I ever saw Jim Carrey in.  This horrid movie and Lauren Hutton helped drag me kicking and screaming into puberty.

7. Knowhutimean? Hey Vern, It's My Family Album - This train wreck is Jim Varney at his best.  The man was an amazing actor who is seriously under-appreciated.  This shows off his amazing range and skills.

8. Blazing Saddles -  Oh! this comedic ode to the fart joke.  My wife thinks I'm crazy anytime I tune this one in, but I really can't help myself.

9. Just One of the Guys - Lots of guy comedy with this one, especially all the scratching in public.  No idea why I like this movie, but I do.

10. Damnation Alley - I only like this one for one reason: The Landmaster

Proof: Cleverbot is Really John Cleese

Click to enlarge

Seriously, Quit Messing With My Childhood

You see some things, and you think, "This has to be a joke. There's no way this can possibly be real." But my friend, you would be very mistaken.

Lucasfilm developing 'Star Wars' comedy series

See that above? This is the kind of think I'm talking about. Seems like Lucas is getting ready to jump the shark. You'd think they would've learned their lesson with the prequels.

Twice the Cool

Watch a Harley Davidson V-Twin Engine on the Assembly Line via SciTechExplained.com

City Happenings

A couple of things that seem pretty big are happening in Knoxville today.

Karl Rove will be at Books-a-Million signing his new book today.
Also, Father wants biology book ban: Man says text shows bias against Christian faith.

Well, he has a point, but I'm not certain banning the book is the answer. This is the kind of thing that you teach your kids yourself.

iPhone OS4 Sneak Preview April 8

Gizmodo has a snippet on the info

Hopefully Apple has multi-tasking as a feature of this OS. It would silence a lot of their detractors, both for the phone and the iPad.

White Man Has Forked Tongue, But Wolf Speak Truth

Wolf Howling: Climategate Update 26: The Return Of Arctic Sea Ice, Der Spiegel On Climategate, & The Whitewashing of Climategate In The UK

Oh, and Wolfie, put in a Share This link. It'll make thing easier. Thanks!

Oh James, Say It Ain't So

James Lipton, writer, poet, composer, dean emeritus, highly respeced host of Inside the Actors Studio has a dark skeleton in his closet.

Lipton wrote the theme song for children's TV show ThunderCats

Oh Sure, NOW They Post These Recipes

Never fails. The second I go on a diet, someone has to post recipes like these.

How to make your own Girl Scout cookies

This hurts me more than you could know.

Fair Question

Why do porn sites have a "facebook-share" button? Have you ever seen anybody post a porn video on their wall?

via Reddit

Since I'm not a big frequenter of porn sites (too cheap to pay), I'm a bit surprised someone would include links on their website to do this. But then again, if you worked in the industry, I suppose you'd want to share with friends and co-workers?

Apple iPad: Day 1

So what does a non-fanboy have to say about the iPad after one day of use?

It's a toy.

And it will remain as such until they fix the multi-tasking problem, among others. Go buy yourself a real computer, not an overblown iPod.

Just Because It's Awesome

Hugh Laurie's House M.D. audition

'Bout Time: Microsoft to "Give Away" Office 10

MS has seen it's marketshare of Office eroded for years by open-source and free alternatives, such as Google's online apps. One would think they would've gotten the hint years ago, but instead they increased the bloat of Office by adding more features and jacking up the price. That'll show 'em.

Maybe they've finally gotten the hint. Microsoft will start handing out pared-down versions of Office and will make upgrading easier.

Stupid Fire Tricks

Actually, that's pretty cool.

My Car Can Go This Fast

If it were shoved off a cliff.

The 2011 Hennessey Venom GT

Happy Easter

A Sad Day

California's last auto plant shuts its doors

I know what you're thinking: That's really a weird thing for a techie to blog about....

Yeah, it is. This isn't about the economy. This is nostalgia.
One car that I owned, which was my all-time favorite car, came from California. It was a 1965 Buick Wildcat. It was from the LA region where GM once manufactured cars. For me, this is the end of an era. No more Cali cruisers (even though intellectually I know they haven't been made there in a looooong time).

I feel sorry for all those folks who will now be joining the seemingly-ever-increasing ranks of the unemployeed. I feel sorry for the passing of an era.

Outstanding

I was going to write a peice on local computer companies and examples of outstanding customer service, but I can't find any. Not a one. I can find no examples in or around Knoxville, TN of a local tech company providing this level of service.

How sad is that?

I was thinking that surely someone would have one to name. Well I do. Let me tell you about the companies that I have done business with in the East Tennessee area that should get kudos and your business.

Knight Communications (no web link that I could find - (865) 202-8464). I've done several installation jobs and worked with a large variety of companies. Steve and his company are the only ones I've ever worked with who are always on- or under-budget and ensure that everything is perfect. They are consumate professionals and will come when they say they'll be there. I highly recommend this team of installers for any job.

New Horizons Computer Learning Center. If you need a class or just want to pick someone's brain, or if you have a project that is perhaps better out-sourced, let me recommend New Horizons. They have an amazing staff of highly trained, immenently competent people. I've enjoyed many of their classes and working with their technicians and programmers. They are always friendly, and if you have a good working relationship with them, are very willing to lend a hand or answer a question.

Those are my two for today. I'm going to start trying to feature a few companies in the tech industry who I consider to be outstanding.

Funny in a Sad Way

Thanks to PeopleofWalMart.com, I've discovered a new site called That's My Boss. The stories are humorous, disgusting, infuriating, and sometime a little sad. But anyone who has to deal with a boss will enjoy them.

There is No Plan B

Lesson for Today: Context is Important

Lesson for Today: Sex Sells

I like billboards. Most of the time they're rather dull, but when they're interesting, they're like a $20 bill you find in the street.

PSDeluxe looks at 30 creative billboards (my favorite is below)

Life Lessons Taught by Thai Restaurants

A Tiger Woods Made Out of Condoms

I recognize that the prospect of any guy cheating on his wife with multiple sex partners without protection against sexually transmitted diseases is sad and isn't terribly funny. But I suppose if a strange restaurant in Thailand can use it as a teaching opportunity to prevent unwanted pregnancies and disease, then I can't say that I blame them.

And now, I think I can say I've seen everything.

I Owe Them Everything

Another fine example of everything you need to know in life can be found in Monty Python: 20 Business Lessons Learned from Monty Python

Case for Climate Change Stronger Than Ever?

Only if you're an idiot.

Just because something was "modeled" on a computer does not make it correct. I could model the solar system with Earth at its center and make it reasonably accurate. That does not make it correct.

Let's all say this together: COMPUTERS ARE NOT MAGIC

Faulty logic, falsified data, and pre-determined hypotheses do not make good inputs for a computer program. Garbage-in. Garbage-out.

Resume Advise

We've all seen it.  The internet abounds with it.  How to make your resume be all it can be.
The latest one I saw was from The Ladders.

Mostly, the information seems to be pretty common-sense, and while I know that is sometimes lacking in today's world, these seem pretty straight-forward to me.

There's only one thing that puts a hitch in my giddy-up.  Some "professionals" (I use the term loosely, as I'm sure some of these folks are not part of a professional society) say make your resume 2 pages or less.  Some say a short resume is not good, it needs to be huge! 

Well I have a bit of advice for you putting together resumes.  Call the person you're sending it to and ASK them what they prefer.  You can have multiple forms of your resume.  Take the time to find out about the company, and part of this is the wants/desires of the hiring/HR personnel.  They'll thank you for it and it will make you more memorable and will increase your chances of being hired by showing your interest in the company.

So, bottom line: Ignore the "professionals".  They have good advice, but  you need to tailor it to your situation.

Fools' Gold

First, let me begin by saying Happy April Fools day.

 

I won't be playing any jokes on anyone today. The folks at .gov tend to take a dim view of such happenings, and I actually like my job, thank you very much. Also, due to some Federal regulations it seems I've been ignoring, I also need to do some full disclosure.

• I'm not actually a person.  I'm a big-foot (sasquatch for the more politically correct term).  My wife caught me in the woods years ago, shaved me (some) and taught me to hold my pinky finger out when drinking tea.
• My blog is completely written by a bot.  I actually have very little to do with the day-to-day operations.  I check in about once a month to see what it says.  Most of the time, I am as surprised as anyone.  See the bot is actually a TRS 80 hooked up to one of those old, red LED hand-held football games. 
• I own Linux.  No, really.  I know, you thought it was "free".  My lawyers thought that was a great marketing tool and would look good on taxes.  I let people think it's all open source because it makes them feel good.  In reality, whenever someone says "linux", I get a nickel. 
• My kids and I are in reality the top 3 guilds in World of Warcraft.  Yes, you read correctly.  We're really all three guilds.  We multibox and are just that talented.  And we speak French.
• Did you know that Kodak invented color?  Seriously, the world was black and white before Kodak.  Don't believe me?  Just look at the pictures.
• My great-grandfather was Sherlock Holmes.  Apparently I'm also related to Watson somehow.  We don't ask too many questions about that, though.
• April 1st was first celebrated as April Fool's Day in 44BC.  Everyone was so bummed out about the previous Ides of March, they decided to use this day to lighten the mood.

Enjoy your April Fools' Day!