Thursday, May 29, 2008
It's N.W.A. Day!
Watch this hilarious "clean" version of N.W.A.'s Fuck Da Police. To appreciate it you'll really have to step into the wayback machine and watch the original, and very explicit, version of the video. Now taht brings back some memories.
The face of the enemy
I have professed my love for the content of the Revision3 network many times over the last few months. This "network" has become the refuge of all the great personalities from the now defunct TechTV and the content they are producing is fantastic. You really should check out some of the shows.
This past weekend, Memorial Day, the Revision3 site was difficult to impossible to access. There were rumors flying around the Internets about the reason for this outage but no one had a definitive answer. At least not until this morning when the CEO of Revision3, Jim Louderback, posted this article on the site's blog.
Here's the big picture for those of you too lazy to read that fantastic article. The Revision3 site and network was deliberately attacked by MediaDefender, a company that works for the RIAA and other media copyright holders. MediaDefender uses various underhanded tactics in order to "protect" the audio and video content of their customers. They were using the Revision3 bittorrent tracker to lure unsuspecting users into downloading planted copyrighted works so that their IP addresses could be logged and then later investigated.
I hope this turns out to be MediaDefenders epitaph....what a bunch of douchebags.
This past weekend, Memorial Day, the Revision3 site was difficult to impossible to access. There were rumors flying around the Internets about the reason for this outage but no one had a definitive answer. At least not until this morning when the CEO of Revision3, Jim Louderback, posted this article on the site's blog.
Here's the big picture for those of you too lazy to read that fantastic article. The Revision3 site and network was deliberately attacked by MediaDefender, a company that works for the RIAA and other media copyright holders. MediaDefender uses various underhanded tactics in order to "protect" the audio and video content of their customers. They were using the Revision3 bittorrent tracker to lure unsuspecting users into downloading planted copyrighted works so that their IP addresses could be logged and then later investigated.
I hope this turns out to be MediaDefenders epitaph....what a bunch of douchebags.
Funky Town....
The raping of my childhood continues....Beverly Hills Cop 4.
Mark my words, there will be another "Vacation" movie soon too. Something like The Griswold Hybrid Adventure or The Green Vacation. Some kind of lame environmental bullshit like that.
Mark my words, there will be another "Vacation" movie soon too. Something like The Griswold Hybrid Adventure or The Green Vacation. Some kind of lame environmental bullshit like that.
Marketing
The Nintendo Wii is still so hot that you can't just walk into a store and buy one. Here's one reason the Wii is selling so well.
Subioyota
A while ago I was bitching about Toyota killing of all of their "sporty" cars. It appears that Toyota is so bereft of sporting intentions that they have decided to source a new sporty coupe from Subaru.
I guess Subaru decided that since they turned the latest Impreza/WRX into a big fat pig they needed something sportier. So this is going to be a two door Impreza coupe....I guess. Toyota is just going to slap a Celica badge on this thing and call it their own....that's just sad.
I guess Subaru decided that since they turned the latest Impreza/WRX into a big fat pig they needed something sportier. So this is going to be a two door Impreza coupe....I guess. Toyota is just going to slap a Celica badge on this thing and call it their own....that's just sad.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hell no.....
Warning....annoyingly bad audio but still funny. Grandma's ghost ridin'
You fools better not step cause granny's also ridin' dirty.
You fools better not step cause granny's also ridin' dirty.
Math sucks
Every time I pump $60 worth of explosive liquid into my car I start thinking about electric cars. I may have mentioned at one point my concern that the electric grid didn't have the capacity to handle millions of Americans charging their electric cars every night. I couldn't find any readily available numbers and I sure as shit wasn't going to try and calculate that on my own. This morning I stumbled on some numbers on wiki that translated Gasoline usage as a number in electrical wattage. I then found some numbers about the US electrical capacity. Keep in mind the sources of these numbers but it is pretty interesting.
Basically, gasoline used for transportation accounts for 600 gigawatts of power burned in the US every year. Compare that to the total generation of power in the US in 2005 of 4,054,688 Gigawatt-hours. That makes the amount of capacity to charge electric cars seem insignificant.
So where the hell is my electric car bitches?
Basically, gasoline used for transportation accounts for 600 gigawatts of power burned in the US every year. Compare that to the total generation of power in the US in 2005 of 4,054,688 Gigawatt-hours. That makes the amount of capacity to charge electric cars seem insignificant.
So where the hell is my electric car bitches?
This guy must be fun.
Check out this video posted by Captain Detail using his amazing powers of boredom. This is the guy that you always end up sitting next to on an airplane....and wish it would explode. Oh and his sidekick, Kid Voice Over, also sounds like someone that pays for sex.
He's has big a dork as you would expect to spend money on a "vintage" Macintosh from ebay.
He's has big a dork as you would expect to spend money on a "vintage" Macintosh from ebay.
Sad, but its your own damn fault.
We've sued and persecuted teachers to the point where they can no longer effectively manage their own class room environment. Teachers have lost their jobs for something as basic as shouting at children so they now have to resort to having a "democratic" vote within the class room in order to achieve some kind of order.
First of all, there's a reason why you have to be 18 to vote in this country. That reason is that children lack any ability to make a judgment based on any kind of reality or consequence (some adults have this problem as well). You can't expect a room of kindergarten age kids to make a decision more complex than whether or not to eat paste.
Second, if you are over the age of 30 then you may have actually received a decent public education in this country. That is because you were most likely threatened, intimidated and verbally abused by your teachers. How do you expect your children to learn anything if there is no one of authority present to teach them. Its called building character and we're just not doing it right anymore because everyone is too afraid of hurting a child's feelings.
Third....that kid's smile is already kind of creepy. Potential Michael Myers there....stop fucking with him.
First of all, there's a reason why you have to be 18 to vote in this country. That reason is that children lack any ability to make a judgment based on any kind of reality or consequence (some adults have this problem as well). You can't expect a room of kindergarten age kids to make a decision more complex than whether or not to eat paste.
Second, if you are over the age of 30 then you may have actually received a decent public education in this country. That is because you were most likely threatened, intimidated and verbally abused by your teachers. How do you expect your children to learn anything if there is no one of authority present to teach them. Its called building character and we're just not doing it right anymore because everyone is too afraid of hurting a child's feelings.
Third....that kid's smile is already kind of creepy. Potential Michael Myers there....stop fucking with him.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Internets
Weezer's video for their newest single, Pork and Beans, just hit YouTube. It stars all the people that have been made "famous" by none other than YouTube. Hilarious video and the song is pretty catchy too.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Sipping on gin an juice....or gas
The story about the Metro got me thinking about something. Where are all the kit car manufacturers? There used to be a ton of them selling all kinds of crazy shit mostly based on ancient VW Beetle parts but they seem to have almost all faded away. The only ones really left are classic car and sports car replicas of old Jags and Porsche Speedsters that cost way too much to be popular.
I think the death of the gasoline engine could spark a huge renaissance in the kit car industry. Electric kit cars would be a hell of a lot simpler to build because you don't have some of the really complex, and intimidating, systems normally associated with cars. Stuff like cooling systems/radiators, fuel delivery (FIRE BAD!) and transmissions are difficult to deal with and potentially deadly. With an electric car all you really have to worry about is zapping yourself with high voltage. Tuning an internal combustion engine can be a black art even with modern computer-managed fuel and emission systems. With electric cars you've got the power source, the controller and the motor...that's it for the most basic systems.
Come on, some one bring back the affordable kit car.
I think the death of the gasoline engine could spark a huge renaissance in the kit car industry. Electric kit cars would be a hell of a lot simpler to build because you don't have some of the really complex, and intimidating, systems normally associated with cars. Stuff like cooling systems/radiators, fuel delivery (FIRE BAD!) and transmissions are difficult to deal with and potentially deadly. With an electric car all you really have to worry about is zapping yourself with high voltage. Tuning an internal combustion engine can be a black art even with modern computer-managed fuel and emission systems. With electric cars you've got the power source, the controller and the motor...that's it for the most basic systems.
Come on, some one bring back the affordable kit car.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
More digital crack
I've fallen down the rabbit hole this morning and got sucked into the world of Twitter. Just following the guys from TRS and other Revision3 shows and I've determined that I wish I was interesting enough to use it.
Anyway, Dr. Tiki from TikiBar TV has a twitter feed and he posted the following, "OMG, it just occurred to me that new media is just public access tv. Without the budget."
Now that is an interesting thought but I somewhat disagree. I think YOUTUBE is like public access but shows like TikiBar TV and all the Rev3 shows are evidence of how brilliant people with modern high tech equipment can produce something amazing even without much of a budget. Even though I get the impression that Rev3 is doing pretty good money-wise.
Think about what you really need. A decent computer with video editing software, lets say a fast Mac with Final Cut for about $5000. A nice HD "Prosumer" camera, lets say $2000. A mixer and some decent microphones, lets say $1000. And a sheet of green cloth if you want to do some serious CGI style stuff. With $8000 and a good idea you could really do something entertaining that could reach thousands of people or at least get a good start. That's assuming that you have a shred of talent...unlike most of people on YouTube using their $100 web cams to do movie reviews.
The most expensive part would be the hosting/bandwidth, that could get scary if you get popular.
Anyway, Dr. Tiki from TikiBar TV has a twitter feed and he posted the following, "OMG, it just occurred to me that new media is just public access tv. Without the budget."
Now that is an interesting thought but I somewhat disagree. I think YOUTUBE is like public access but shows like TikiBar TV and all the Rev3 shows are evidence of how brilliant people with modern high tech equipment can produce something amazing even without much of a budget. Even though I get the impression that Rev3 is doing pretty good money-wise.
Think about what you really need. A decent computer with video editing software, lets say a fast Mac with Final Cut for about $5000. A nice HD "Prosumer" camera, lets say $2000. A mixer and some decent microphones, lets say $1000. And a sheet of green cloth if you want to do some serious CGI style stuff. With $8000 and a good idea you could really do something entertaining that could reach thousands of people or at least get a good start. That's assuming that you have a shred of talent...unlike most of people on YouTube using their $100 web cams to do movie reviews.
The most expensive part would be the hosting/bandwidth, that could get scary if you get popular.
We interrupt this message....
Normally, I don't watch Internet Superstar on Revision3 because I can only take so much Martin Sargent. But this week they are talking to the always lovely LaLa from TikiBar TV. It was a pretty funny episode especially when Gator starts talking about hanging out with a Seminole Indian named Starving Crow a doing a Tequila Stuntman, that's about 11:00 minutes in.
Maybe I should give this show another shot....no pun intended.
Maybe I should give this show another shot....no pun intended.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Netflix FTW?
Netflix has announced a new hardware interface for your TV. This silent little box allows you to view titles in your Netflix instant view queue that is currently accessible via your computer. The little box costs $100 and you can use the instant queue service an unlimited amount for as low as $9 a month. They have over 10,000 titles already available for instant view and that number is growing every day. That is pretty amazing and on paper it looks really great but there are a couple of issues.
- The box has an HDMI output but only does 480p....basically DVD quality.
- The box only has 64MB of local storage which means that it is streaming all the content from Netflix over you internet connection. That just sounds like a recipe for painful stuttering/buffering.
- The quality of the Netflix Instant View titles is not great, good enough to watch on a laptop/desktop computer but on a 50" TV....may not be so good.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
What really matters
If you look at surveys of why people buy cars you will usually see that same trend. When asked people always say that safety on fuel economy are their highest priority whenh shopping for a new car. But when people ACTUALLY buy a new car it's styling and performance that really sell.
So now that gas prices are soaring ever higher is there a new trend forming? This story on CNN talks about how cheap, fuel efficient cars from the early 90's are going for big money now on ebay. Now I think it's great that a 15 year old Geo Metro that gets 50+ MPG is making a comeback but there are serious issues with comparing it to a Prius. I doubt that ANY manufacturer could produce a car as light weight as a early 90's Geo Metro without resorting to ultra exotic and expensive materials like carbon fiber. Today's safety regulations make a car like those Metros and CRXs difficult to produce and still meet government imposed safety requirements. Also you can forget about that engine being "green" because while it gets good mileage it has a very basic emissions system. Which is the other reason these cars are no longer made, stricter government regulation of emissions. That is why Toyota is banking on hybrid cars like the Prius.
If you go out and buy a 15 year old Metro then make sure you have plenty of LIFE insurance because if you stuff it into something its not going to pretty.
So now that gas prices are soaring ever higher is there a new trend forming? This story on CNN talks about how cheap, fuel efficient cars from the early 90's are going for big money now on ebay. Now I think it's great that a 15 year old Geo Metro that gets 50+ MPG is making a comeback but there are serious issues with comparing it to a Prius. I doubt that ANY manufacturer could produce a car as light weight as a early 90's Geo Metro without resorting to ultra exotic and expensive materials like carbon fiber. Today's safety regulations make a car like those Metros and CRXs difficult to produce and still meet government imposed safety requirements. Also you can forget about that engine being "green" because while it gets good mileage it has a very basic emissions system. Which is the other reason these cars are no longer made, stricter government regulation of emissions. That is why Toyota is banking on hybrid cars like the Prius.
If you go out and buy a 15 year old Metro then make sure you have plenty of LIFE insurance because if you stuff it into something its not going to pretty.
Sea change?
When a bunch of bearded, pipe smoking hippies talk about wind power its considered cool and trendy. But when rich, old white guys start throwing their money at fields of turbines then you know a technology's time has come. Not only that but guys that made their money off of oil...how cool a name is T. Boone Pickens? That's awesome.
Wow, this is amazing stuff
There are a lot of people that hate on Microsoft and bemoan it as a monopolistic empire. There is some truth to that but you also have to remember that computers would not be where they are today, which is everywhere, if it weren't for Microsoft. They drove innovation in software design for years and have had very few real competitors. There was a "dull" period when it seemed that Microsoft had lost some of that innovative "magic" to companies like Google but in recent years Microsoft has been investing big money in R&D via their new Microsoft Labs and Microsoft Research. I posted that amazing Telescope software the other day from the Research group and now its time for Microsoft Labs.
Watch this amazing video preview of their new Seadragon project. Its basically a new way to visualize, organize and use huge amounts of photographic data.
While Seadragon isn't quite ready for public preview you can check out its companion software Photosynth. Install the demo and play with it...its very cool.
Watch this amazing video preview of their new Seadragon project. Its basically a new way to visualize, organize and use huge amounts of photographic data.
While Seadragon isn't quite ready for public preview you can check out its companion software Photosynth. Install the demo and play with it...its very cool.
Monday, May 19, 2008
You better break!
Got bored and started trolling Break for some laughs. Probably NSFW stuff.
Check out this prank, be sure to watch it until the end.
Um, when the waves are coming over the deck of an Aircraft Carrier you know its some serious shit. Can you imagine how bad it would be on one of the Carrier's escort Destroyers?
Check out this prank, be sure to watch it until the end.
Um, when the waves are coming over the deck of an Aircraft Carrier you know its some serious shit. Can you imagine how bad it would be on one of the Carrier's escort Destroyers?
The Lord hath spoken!
Watch these crazy bitches go nuts for their Master Oprah.
Yes....worship me and bring me fudge oh little ones.
Yes....worship me and bring me fudge oh little ones.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Speak up America
Watch this great Daily Show clip.
Hillary Clinton the candidate of white, lower income, older, no college education, blue collar voters. Ah yes, poor white trash...the backbone of America.
I wish the media would just shut the fuck up and stop declaring a "winner" in this suckfest.
Hillary Clinton the candidate of white, lower income, older, no college education, blue collar voters. Ah yes, poor white trash...the backbone of America.
I wish the media would just shut the fuck up and stop declaring a "winner" in this suckfest.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
GN'R 4EVR
My Damn Channel has a whole series of videos that are interviews of musicians with Don Was. This one is one of my favorites, Slash and Duff from Velvet Revolver/Guns N' Roses. They are talking about writing music for Appetite For Destruction and one of my favorite songs, Night Train. You forget just how big GN'R was back then....man I love that album.
What a great legacy
In the past week President Bush has said some things that are not only shockingly stupid but incredible and undeniably offensive. His presidency as already been deemed a huge failure and in the future his name will only be mentioned in company with Richard Nixon. Hopefully he'll replace Nixon as the model of how not to be a President because while Nixon was immoral at least he wasn't mentally handicapped/clinically insane.
His comments on the war in Iraq, terrorism, WMD and golf have been all over the news in recent days. I think this clip of Keith Olbermann (part 2) is probably the best summation of Bush's legacy that I have ever seen in addition to being a very passionate and almost gut-wrenching speech. If Olbermann wrote that himself then I am truly impressed.
His comments on the war in Iraq, terrorism, WMD and golf have been all over the news in recent days. I think this clip of Keith Olbermann (part 2) is probably the best summation of Bush's legacy that I have ever seen in addition to being a very passionate and almost gut-wrenching speech. If Olbermann wrote that himself then I am truly impressed.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Speechless
You HAVE TO download and play with Microsoft's new Worldwide Telescope. It is absolutely amazing. I have never seen anything that so successful pulls together data from so many sources.
It makes Google Earth look like something that came with Encarta '97.
It makes Google Earth look like something that came with Encarta '97.
Ah to be young and stupid
Now this is about as stupid as you can get. That kid's not stupid because he stole his dad's credit card and went spend crazy. No, he's stupid because he hired two professional "escorts" to play Halo with him.
An eye for an eye
The best weapon is one you only have to use once. Personally I like the Rods from God concept, maybe because I have an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle sticker that a friend found in an old tank. Of course SDI never produced anything "mission capable"...wink wink, nudge nudge.
Now that's funny
You may want to seriously consider some changes when your business model lends itself to a joke of this quality. Absolutely priceless.
Every time I drive by Blockbuster there are people there. Who the hell are these people? They must be some kind of CHUD like splinter group of sub-humans.
Every time I drive by Blockbuster there are people there. Who the hell are these people? They must be some kind of CHUD like splinter group of sub-humans.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
My own personal apocolypse redux.
Read this article about Broadband caps and per byte billing.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! The end is fucking near!
Okay, in all truth I could PROBABLY live with Comcast's supposed 250gb per month if I had to. I would switch to a less restrictive provider in a heartbeat...even if their speeds were slower. But 5gb a month is insane! Charging per byte is even worse.
Why should you care about this? Most of you have no clue just how much bandwidth you use every month, mainly because you've never had to care. This should give you some perspective.
5gb = approx. 170mb of traffic/day. And I'm assuming that is total upload + download.
You could do ONE of the following things each day of the month:
I still feel the only reason for these restrictions is to price people off of the Internet. Your ISP doesn't want to make a hefty investment to increase their network's capacity to handle the increased traffic of the now media-rich Internet. If these restrictions become popular it will end up slowing or killing the growth of the Internet or it will shift all of the innovation to other countries like South Korea and Europe.
This is because secretly your ISP, whether it is a Cable or "Phone" company, doesn't want you to access the actual "Internet". Why would the phone company want you to have access to Vonage? Why would your cable company want you to have access to NetFlix or iTunes to download high quality video? This is the beginning of a new regression back to AOL's old "walled garden" idea where your ISP gives you cheap, easy access to "their" data but makes you pay extra to get to the real Internet.
Just wait.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! The end is fucking near!
Okay, in all truth I could PROBABLY live with Comcast's supposed 250gb per month if I had to. I would switch to a less restrictive provider in a heartbeat...even if their speeds were slower. But 5gb a month is insane! Charging per byte is even worse.
Why should you care about this? Most of you have no clue just how much bandwidth you use every month, mainly because you've never had to care. This should give you some perspective.
5gb = approx. 170mb of traffic/day. And I'm assuming that is total upload + download.
You could do ONE of the following things each day of the month:
- You could watch 1 hour of standard 480p video (divx, quicktime, etc.) streamed or downloaded.
- You could buy and download 3-4 albums of music from iTunes (medium quality)
- You could upload (or download) 300-400 high resolution pictures to/from your Flickr account.
I still feel the only reason for these restrictions is to price people off of the Internet. Your ISP doesn't want to make a hefty investment to increase their network's capacity to handle the increased traffic of the now media-rich Internet. If these restrictions become popular it will end up slowing or killing the growth of the Internet or it will shift all of the innovation to other countries like South Korea and Europe.
This is because secretly your ISP, whether it is a Cable or "Phone" company, doesn't want you to access the actual "Internet". Why would the phone company want you to have access to Vonage? Why would your cable company want you to have access to NetFlix or iTunes to download high quality video? This is the beginning of a new regression back to AOL's old "walled garden" idea where your ISP gives you cheap, easy access to "their" data but makes you pay extra to get to the real Internet.
Just wait.
Boring
Stop using those boring Windows screen savers. How many times can you look at your pictures before you get totally sick of them? Windows XP Logo? What are you a corporation?
Here are some very cool mostly Internet "live" screen savers. Twingly is awesome but it makes my head hurt.
Here are some very cool mostly Internet "live" screen savers. Twingly is awesome but it makes my head hurt.
Hippietech
The two hottest things today are technology and environmentalism. So if you're a green nerd you are the coolest guy that you know, congratulations. Here are some web sites that you can peruse with your stationary bike powered Macbook.
EcoModder - Crazy car modifiers that only care about the all mighty MPG.
AutoblogGreen - Not just car stuff, really interesting.
CleanTechnica - New one, not bad.
Those are the ones I've been frequenting. And for you information, yes I am a nerd but NOT and environmentalist. The reason I like these sites is because renewable energy is cheap and it is going to change all the rules over the next 30 years. I don't give a shit about the environment.
EcoModder - Crazy car modifiers that only care about the all mighty MPG.
AutoblogGreen - Not just car stuff, really interesting.
CleanTechnica - New one, not bad.
Those are the ones I've been frequenting. And for you information, yes I am a nerd but NOT and environmentalist. The reason I like these sites is because renewable energy is cheap and it is going to change all the rules over the next 30 years. I don't give a shit about the environment.
Lets do the time warp
Did you know that there is a new X-Files movie coming out July 25th? At first I was thinking 1996 called and they want their movie back. But when I heard the little X-Files theme synth sound in this trailer I kind of got excited.
Flash!
Check out these stunning pictures of lightning striking a cloud of ash erupting from a volcano in Chile. Amazing!
Leftovers?
Still have some of your "Economic Stimulus" money left? I call them "Bush Bucks". Of course mine are long gone but if you've got some left burning a hole in your wallet then here is a guide to some gadgets that you may want to look into.
Anche Belissima!
Ferrari makes some of the most fantastic cars on the planet. In recent years they have focused their efforts on performance above all else, which is admirable. But most of the old school Ferrari faithful wish that there was more attention paid to style and detail. Personally, the last Ferrari that I considered to be good looking was the 355 which looks like an antique these days. Park an F430 next to any of his price rivals, like an Aston DB9 or a Lamborghini Gallardo, and this lack of real style becomes very apparent. Ferrari used to make drop dead gorgeous cars like the 365 Californias and Daytonas of the 50's and 60's but that was a long time ago.
Here is the new Ferrari California. The California is the new "cheap" Ferrari which should cost some where around $120,000...which is cheap for a Ferrari. But not only that....it's actually rather good looking. Ferrari chose not to sully that classic California moniker and make something beautiful. The cheapest Ferrari is the prettiest Ferrari....odd.
Here is the new Ferrari California. The California is the new "cheap" Ferrari which should cost some where around $120,000...which is cheap for a Ferrari. But not only that....it's actually rather good looking. Ferrari chose not to sully that classic California moniker and make something beautiful. The cheapest Ferrari is the prettiest Ferrari....odd.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Silver Lining
I have discovered the only upside to gas being nearly (or over) $4.00 a gallon. There are far fewer insane soccer moms in huge Tahoes and Expeditions on the road. Women far to occupied by their makeup, phone call or screaming larvae in the back seat to pay attention to where they are going.
Good riddance.
Good riddance.
Belissima!
I have already expounded about the forthcoming Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and its drop dead gorgeous looks. The Competizione will be one of Alfa's big splashes when they return to the American market sometime this year. This car make me weep but lets face it, I'm no where near being able to afford one.
But, if Alfa decides to bring the awesome little Me.To (hopefully with a different name) over as well then I think they'll sell like hot cakes. European manufacturers have always used the argument that Americans won't buy small cars to explain why stylish "superminis" like this and the new Fiat 500 are not sold in the US. Well I think $4/gallon gas is going to change that sentiment rather fast. Ford has announced that thy are bringing their longtime European supermini offering, the Fiesta, to the US market soon. Let's hope that the Italians follow.
But, if Alfa decides to bring the awesome little Me.To (hopefully with a different name) over as well then I think they'll sell like hot cakes. European manufacturers have always used the argument that Americans won't buy small cars to explain why stylish "superminis" like this and the new Fiat 500 are not sold in the US. Well I think $4/gallon gas is going to change that sentiment rather fast. Ford has announced that thy are bringing their longtime European supermini offering, the Fiesta, to the US market soon. Let's hope that the Italians follow.
I never learned to read...
Every one knows that Bill O'Reilly is a total asshat. But here is great video proof of why he is the king of the dicks. You know people hate you when video that should never see the light of day reaches the Internet. Thanks anonymous intern/producer, you've just gained back a little piece of the soul you sold to work in televised journalism.
Bombs away!
Looks like the new Speed Racer movie didn't do so hot this weekend, grossing less than HALF of Iron Man's take in its second weekend of release. Guess I was the only one that thought it looked interesting...of course I didn't go see it either, lol. Gonna be hard to pay for the $100 million budget with a >$20 million open.
No surprise, a mostly ho-hum cast in an adaption of a cartoon that most people considered to be pretty bizarre. Sprinkle a little of that Wachowski "magic" and you've got a recipe for disaster. Fine by me, I've never forgiven those two douchebags for soiling a fantastic movie like The Matrix with those less than spectacular sequels. But I have read some good reviews of the movie so maybe they just gambled on a really bad time for the opening...on the tales of Iron Man's huge success.
Interestingly, Iron Man recouped its entire budget of nearly $200 million in its opening weekend. That means that every penny it makes after May 5th is pure profit. That is the gravy train with biscuit wheels my friend. Piracy is ruining the industry, my ass!
No surprise, a mostly ho-hum cast in an adaption of a cartoon that most people considered to be pretty bizarre. Sprinkle a little of that Wachowski "magic" and you've got a recipe for disaster. Fine by me, I've never forgiven those two douchebags for soiling a fantastic movie like The Matrix with those less than spectacular sequels. But I have read some good reviews of the movie so maybe they just gambled on a really bad time for the opening...on the tales of Iron Man's huge success.
Interestingly, Iron Man recouped its entire budget of nearly $200 million in its opening weekend. That means that every penny it makes after May 5th is pure profit. That is the gravy train with biscuit wheels my friend. Piracy is ruining the industry, my ass!
Is SNL funny again?
SNL is usually better during an election year, there's just so much fodder out there for them to use. This is a great slam on Hillary, or should I say The Sore Loser.
Also, check out these retro "pin-up" style pictures of Eva Mendes. Holy Shit she's hot.....NSFW.
Also, check out these retro "pin-up" style pictures of Eva Mendes. Holy Shit she's hot.....NSFW.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Fanboys suck
I stand in awe of the ranting ability of Mr. Yahtzee Chroshaw. In this episode of Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee decides to answer some viewer mail....this is one guy you should never piss off. He will call you an idiot in five unique ways and you'll only hear one.
Why I love technology
This video just about sums up why I love computers and all the associated technology that has developed around them. Ten years ago something like this would most likely not even existed let alone be available to virtually everyone.
Of course I knew Darth Vader and Hillary Clinton is no Darth Vader.......
Of course I knew Darth Vader and Hillary Clinton is no Darth Vader.......
You did what?
Stupidity is no excuse. Shit like this is why public executions are still popular in parts of the world.
Do it ebaaaaaay!
I haven't bought anything on eBay in at least 2 years and its been at least 3 years since I sold something on eBay. I guess eBay's customer service must be going way down hill according to this article.
Someone's always watching
This video is either a brilliant publicity stunt, a stroke of artistic genius or perhaps a sad commentary on the prolific us of CCTV cameras in the UK. I actually think its a mix of all three and the music isn't half bad either.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Big Brother Tester
Someone has come up with a way to test if your ISP is throttling your BitTorrent transfers or not. Cant wait to get home and test mine out.
Connection Throttling Tester
Connection Throttling Tester
Don Mattingly would approve
Read this funny story. Now the majority of you have no clue who Sebastian Loeb is, he's the Dale Earnhardt of the WRC Rally world....except he's still alive. Now Loeb is French so he suffers from a slightly inflated ego but this guy can make a rally car dance like no other, someday he'll get bored with WRC and make it to F1 where I'm sure he'll make a big impression.
Anyway the reason that side burns story is funny is because of the whole Max Mosley deal. Senior FIA officials want one of their most beloved drivers to get a hair cut but their okay with their boss's Nazi Orgy fetish.....LOL!
BTW, if you don't get that Don Mattingly thing then you need to watch this. Homer at the Bat, one of the best Simpsons episodes ever which aired 15 years ago. That blows my mind.
Anyway the reason that side burns story is funny is because of the whole Max Mosley deal. Senior FIA officials want one of their most beloved drivers to get a hair cut but their okay with their boss's Nazi Orgy fetish.....LOL!
BTW, if you don't get that Don Mattingly thing then you need to watch this. Homer at the Bat, one of the best Simpsons episodes ever which aired 15 years ago. That blows my mind.
The future is nigh
Everything I've read about the new Aptera EV has excited me. It looks like the most thoroughly thought out and engineered Electric Vehicle since GM killed off the EV1. Yes, I know that Tesla is finally selling cars but at $100,000 It's just a toy for .com billionaires.
This video tour of Aptera's factory is really cool and only makes me more excited to see how their final product turns out.
But all this talk about EVs being the solution to $100+/barrel has me concerned. If 10 million people by EVs over the next 5 years, which is wildly optimistic, how would that impact the price of electricity? Does our current power grid even have the capacity to charge all those vehicles? We still derive a majority of our electricity from non-renewable resources such as coal and natural gas. So you're just swapping evils in some respects, natural gas/coal for oil. Electric vehicles only really make sense when you can charge them from a renewable source of electricity.
This video tour of Aptera's factory is really cool and only makes me more excited to see how their final product turns out.
But all this talk about EVs being the solution to $100+/barrel has me concerned. If 10 million people by EVs over the next 5 years, which is wildly optimistic, how would that impact the price of electricity? Does our current power grid even have the capacity to charge all those vehicles? We still derive a majority of our electricity from non-renewable resources such as coal and natural gas. So you're just swapping evils in some respects, natural gas/coal for oil. Electric vehicles only really make sense when you can charge them from a renewable source of electricity.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Hello Satan.
The end is near.....Comcast has found a way to make their internet service work, by pissing enough customers off so that they will just leave. This will be really funny.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Your ISP sucks ass.
Here's an enlightening article from Wired. How is it possible that these large ISPs have no ability to actually produce their traffic data? I've played with packet capture/netflow software and it isn't 100% reliable it should possible for any ISP to generate some kind of reasonably detailed traffic reports. Maybe the ISPs are just using P2P traffic as an excuse for something.
I have a fear that the real reason these ISPs are rattling this "P2P is evil" saber is because they know that they have GROSSLY oversold their networks and they have to institute packet shaping in order to keep things flowing at all. The ISPs are using the bad public perception of P2P as an excuse to not have to spend money on infrastructure upgrades by reducing some of the traffic on their networks.
The truth is that not only is Internet usage on the rise but the nature of the data involved and the Internet experience is changing as well. The Internet is becoming more content rich and more of a multimedia experience....that just requires a bigger pipe.
I have a fear that the real reason these ISPs are rattling this "P2P is evil" saber is because they know that they have GROSSLY oversold their networks and they have to institute packet shaping in order to keep things flowing at all. The ISPs are using the bad public perception of P2P as an excuse to not have to spend money on infrastructure upgrades by reducing some of the traffic on their networks.
The truth is that not only is Internet usage on the rise but the nature of the data involved and the Internet experience is changing as well. The Internet is becoming more content rich and more of a multimedia experience....that just requires a bigger pipe.
Draw the conclusion
This article on ARS talks about how Blu-Ray player sales have pretty much fallen flat since the demise of HD-DVD. During that same period PS3 sales have surged......well, duh. What moron would walk into a store and WILLINGLY spend $500 on a stand alone Blu-Ray player when they could spend $399 on a PS3 and essentially get a serious gaming system for free? For stating the most obvious thing ever I award ARS this award.
I think Sony should sell a PS3 variant that includes just the Blu-Ray Remote Control for like $369.
I think Sony should sell a PS3 variant that includes just the Blu-Ray Remote Control for like $369.
THANK YOU GENEROUS OVERLORD!
Rejoice! Hillary Clinton wants you to have handfuls of extra cash! What will I do with the extra $1 to $1.50 that this will save me on every tank of gas? I think I'll fill a bathtub with pennies and just roll around appreciating the new wealth that the amazing Hillary has created for me!
Monday, May 5, 2008
H8ter Pants
I know I've been wearing my Hater Pants for Audi's R8 lately but only because I find it a bit sterile...it's still one hell of a car. As is the S4, RS4, S5 and the soon to arrive (and insanely powerful) RS6.
But I'm putting my Audi Hate Pants back on because I just saw Iron Man...or should I say Iron Man presented by Audi and the new Audi R8, this message approved by Audi and Iron Man. I guess it's not really Audi's fault, the blame should probably fall on the movie producers that took a shovel full of Audi's cash and some free cars.
The movie is great but the Audi placement is a little in your face at times.
But I'm putting my Audi Hate Pants back on because I just saw Iron Man...or should I say Iron Man presented by Audi and the new Audi R8, this message approved by Audi and Iron Man. I guess it's not really Audi's fault, the blame should probably fall on the movie producers that took a shovel full of Audi's cash and some free cars.
The movie is great but the Audi placement is a little in your face at times.
Whoa!
My opinions on BMW styling vary greatly. I think the majority of the cars they make these days are a bit to "fat" and the styling is a bit to soft. I prefer the more angular styling of their mid to late 90's models and the AWESOME 1st generation M3.
This picture may just be fan fiction or some Photoshop trickery but if this is what a mid-engined BMW Coupe could look like then holy shit! Much nicer looking than the M6. Take the M6/M5 V10 drive train and drop it into this shape and say good bye to Mr. Audi R8.
This picture may just be fan fiction or some Photoshop trickery but if this is what a mid-engined BMW Coupe could look like then holy shit! Much nicer looking than the M6. Take the M6/M5 V10 drive train and drop it into this shape and say good bye to Mr. Audi R8.
I'm watching you
Build yourself a cheap GPS tracker out of a cell phone and some basic electronics. Great project for curious/paranoid assholes.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Take that
All you sucker fools that voted the Audi R8 better than the Nissan GT-R in that poll can suck a dick. The GT-R may be more "common" and not a snobby German car but it is WICKED FAST. The Zonda F is still faster by 2 seconds around the 'Ring but costs around $750,000. Thats only about $345,000/sec if you look at the price difference...what a bargain.
Curious....
Could this new device be the box I've been waiting for? If it works as advertised I could finally have a centralized Windows Media Center PC recording all my TV and making it available to EVERY television in my house over simple coax. Add a cheap RF remote control and Nirvana awaits.
Unanswered questions.
1. Why just a VGA input port and not DVI or HDMI? What is this the '90s?
2. What resolutions will it support.....better not be just plain old 640X480 VGA because that would make this thing completely useless.
Unanswered questions.
1. Why just a VGA input port and not DVI or HDMI? What is this the '90s?
2. What resolutions will it support.....better not be just plain old 640X480 VGA because that would make this thing completely useless.
Uh-Oh
Steve Jobs has a plan and it's almost complete. First, iTunes became the number one retailer of music dethroning the former king, Wal-Mart. Now Apple is going after Wal-Mart's other dominant position of number one retailer of DVDs.
Wal-Mart has long held off competition in this arena by imposing its considerable will and preventing the studios from electronically releasing DVDs "day-and-date". Well no more, because now you'll be able to buy the digital version of the latest DVD release from the Apple Empire...I mean iTunes store the same day you can buy it at your local Wal-Mart.
Well done Mr. Jobs, operation Grab the Media World By the Balls is nearly complete. Never mind the fact that Apple as a long and glorious history of charging what ever the hell it wants for its goods and services.
Wal-Mart has long held off competition in this arena by imposing its considerable will and preventing the studios from electronically releasing DVDs "day-and-date". Well no more, because now you'll be able to buy the digital version of the latest DVD release from the Apple Empire...I mean iTunes store the same day you can buy it at your local Wal-Mart.
Well done Mr. Jobs, operation Grab the Media World By the Balls is nearly complete. Never mind the fact that Apple as a long and glorious history of charging what ever the hell it wants for its goods and services.
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