Epic Revenge.

Grounded Asian kid named Chris gets epic FTW on his tattle tale sister. Be sure to read the comments.

Props to the original.

Show Off.

The Audi R8 is a phenomenal supercar in every respect and has really shown the old players (Ferrari) that German engineering is a great match for Italian passion. Of course being German also means that the R8 is no one trick pony...



Try that with a Ferrari F430.

Even Clarkson likes it....and he's no fan of ze Germans.

Come fly with me...

Still think we don't need high speed rail in this country? Flying was already a massive pain in the ass and now because some guy hid plastic explosives in his nether regions it's gotten even MORE fun!

Iran's blowing up again.

May be NSFW

I took a few days off and avoided the Internet as much as possible. Call it some kind of sanity check. It looks like the fit is hitting the shan in Iran again, check out some of the insane videos of demonstrations at LiveLeak. Once again the Internet shows that you can't fool everyone anymore.

Selfishness defined

So let's say that I believed in the "power of prayer". If i were to so thoroughly delude myself what would I pray to the All Mighty for? Peace in the Middle East perhaps? Not grandiose enough...how about an end to world hunger? There's probably enough people praying for that in Africa already at least when they aren't busy starving to death.

I know what I would pray for. I'd pray for big fucking comet to come and slam into the Earth because I'm not so sure I want to share the planet with these morons. That's right, I'd rather see the entire surface of the Earth burnt to ashes than have to live with the thought that people actually believe that the Devil is behind Health Care Reform.

These religious terrorists always use abortion to get everyone's nuts in a twist. Don't worry about millions of walking, talking, breathing people that will die due to lack of heath care coverage because we have to save the unborn first.

How sweet.

This is a really cool story about the power of Facebook to reunite people.


Screw you Zuckerberg! You almost had me this time but I'm still not joining your damn cult! Stop pulling on my heartstrings you rat bastard, you've got enough willing sheep to build your pyramid.

R.I.P.

Rest in peace....Saab. No more quirky Swedishness for anyone.

I pity them

What poor bastard uses a BlackBerry and says....wow! This is an awesome user experience! I have the unfortunate pleasure of carrying a CrapBerry for work while my personal mobile phone is an iPhone. Every time that I have to use the DingleBerry for ANYTHING I want to cut off my fingers and shove them up my own ass. Browsing the Internet on a AssBerry is an exercise in utter frustration and their half hearted attempt at an application platform is just sad. The fact that they are selling so well is really scary. The only thing I can think is all the Soccer Moms have finally killed their beloved Motorola Razors and think that CrackBerries are still cool, like they were in 2005.

Anyone that tries out an Android phone or an iPhone and then buys a BlackBerry is most likely legally insane. Those of you that have a BlackBerry because your company still has a Victorian Era policy on mobile communications get a free pass from me....and my pity.

And yes, I am a gadget snob and will publicly shame you for your sub par choice of technology.

No shit Sherlock

The President and most Democrats are slipping in nationwide polls. First off polls are total bullshit, who knows who they are actually polling. Second, of course Obama is down how could he possibly live up to the hype and hope surrounding his election. Third, maybe if Congress could get over themselves and stop caring about giving handjobs to their favorite lobbyists something may actually be accomplished.

Is Congress too concerned with their own constituent agendas and lobbies to actually create effective NATIONAL policy? This could have been something that benefited the ENTIRE country instead it looks like more this Bill is only going to benefit the Healthcare Industry.

Avatar Buzz

There had been lots of negativity and doubt surrounding James Cameron's hugely expensive Sci-fi epic Avatar. It is beginning to look like none of those fears are justified. Even Roger Ebert has given the film a rather glowing 4 star review. I have yet to read a review of the movie that says you should not see it although some are critical of the story and dialog.

Did you really think that James Cameron would spend $300-400 million on a movie that would flop? It's James FUCKING Cameron. Think about the movies he's directed....Aliens, Terminator 1 & 2, Titanic, The Abyss. Most of those movies are classics in their own right.

Wow

Check out the Iron Man 2 trailer....looks sweet!!

WTF IDF?

This story made the rounds a few days ago and I ignored it because it seemed so outlandish that it couldn't possibly be true. Well here's a video shot with the owner recounted what happened...seems legit.



I love the reaction by the Israelis. It's suspicious, let's shoot the shit out of it. I have to say there is something strangely beautiful about seeing those holes drilled into that aluminum Macbook.

Sad News

Roy E. Disney dead at 79.

Roy had carried the torch for the Disney Family for many years and fought to keep his Uncle and Father's dreams alive. He'll be sorely missed by those of us that love all things Disney.

New(s) Paradigm

Google Labs has a new site up called Living Stories. It's basically a re-think of the way traditional Newspaper give you information. It gives you a headline and then pulls associated content that is connected to the "lead" story in some way. It's pretty fascinating and it gives you a much broader perspective on topics.

Perspective

This is one crazy video. Someone shot video of the Burj Dubai while flying by in an airplane.



DAMN! That thing is tall.

Bait and switch.

I really love Al Franken. Watch him make a complete asshole out of Senator John Thune(R).



Got to give Thune credit....he's still selling his bullshit all the way to the bitter end.

Props to TPM for that one.

Semantics

I blogged about The Daily Show's lovely piece last week about Glenn Beck manipulating gold prices with his fear mongering television and radio shows. So Glenn Beck isn't a "paid spokesman" for them, he just "...has a passion for gold." They claim that they endorse him by advertising on his programs and supporting his live appearances. I'm sure they are paying a completely above board rate for that privilege and there's no possibility of something more insidious there.

I wonder if someone at the SEC would have to power or foresight to look into Mr. Beck's holdings and trading in gold to see just how clean his hands really are. Of course they didn't see Bernie Madoff's implosion coming so what are the odds of that happening?

I love all these "common people" that love Beck so much because he's fighting for their rights and beliefs...so what if he lines his owns pockets at the same time.

Stay off my lawn!

If you're still delusional enough to believe that a Capitalist Economic System can exist in an unregulated environment then you should probably read this. The US Government had better take a serious look at antitrust laws in the very near future. If they don't act soon then corporations will have so much power and influence that there will be no turning back(if it's not already too late.) Businesses in virtually every sector are merging and consolidating to form massive hegemonies. They are using anti-competitive practices and threatening litigation when they don't get their way.

What is coming is going to make the railroad an oil barons of the early 20th century look like child's play. At least in those days it was about one man's ego, pride or vanity. Now all that matters is squeezing the last dollar out of the consumer.

Awesome Movies

I Stumbled on this great list of the best Sci-Fi movies of the last ten years. If you haven't seen AT LEAST five of these movies then you have no idea what you are missing. Personally, I think the Star Trek reboot should be higher on the list and If I could strike one movie from this list it would be The Fountain but other than that...

You must see Children of Men, District 9, Primer and Moon.....SERIOUSLY!

Best Business Plan Ever

I have found my new career. I'm starting my own bank and following this guy's idea.

How cute

In a last ditch bid to prove that he has any relevance left, Joe Lieberman is threatening to filibuster Health Care reform. He will only vote for the bill if all forms of "the public option" are removed.

He switched parties to keep is seat and now he's just confirming his turncoat status.

This sucks.

Once again the drooling masses of American Idol watching idiots have caused the demise of another one of my favorite shows. Flight of the Conchords is no more. Maybe if they had put some bi-curious sparkling vampires in the show they would have stayed on the air.

Seriously....HBO keeps the self ingratiating cock fest that is Entourage and kills The Conchords? There is no justice in this world.


My absolute favorite Conchords moment....Bowie in space.

GOLD!!!!!

I love The Daily Show....it is the only new source you really need.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Beck - Not So Mellow Gold
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Teapocalypse - The Tea Party Split
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

This makes me feel safe.

The worst possible example of outsourcing.

Outsourcing is the biggest con that the business world has ever pulled off. You cannot put a price on having qualified IT people embedded within your organization. A support person sitting in a cubicle thousands of miles may be able to help with basic user questions about how to use office applications. But they will never have the kind of perspective on your business to actually help someone do their job better or find a way to streamline your computer use. I've spent nearly 15 years working in medium to large IT support and you would not believe the amount of damage outsourcing your IT can do to your business. Granted, this is my profession and I am biased but my observations come from experience. Inevitably, you are forcing your employees to either learn more about computers or you have to spend more money training them. This either costs entirely too much money, negating the reason for outsourcing in the first place, or results in a HUGE reduction in productivity.

Outsourcing and consulting companies are the crack dealers of the IT world. They lure you in by saying they are going to reduce your support cost by some magical number to get you hooked. Once they have complete control over your systems they start cranking up the support contract cost and usually you'll end up paying some where between 15-30% more for the same support by the forth year. At this point the cost of breaking your relationship with vendor is so prohibitive that you have no choice but to stay with them. You may get lucky and one of your support vendor's competitors will swoop in and offer you yet another deal that you can't refuse to switch over to them. You'll go through at least one quarter of crippling issues with your major systems as the support infrastructure changes. This will effect your entire business to varying degrees and after that fun you'll end up back at the beginning of the same cycle.


There is no replacement for having your own IT staff that knows your business and its employees. Don't be fooled by the pitch...

Play me out Shawty!

This is fucking great. (NSFW)


Report: Most College Males Admit To Regularly Getting Stoked

Time to change something

Deep inside, my dormant Republican side is laughing with glee and delight at the Senate Democrats. This is what happens when the Democrats get the majority, they turn into a bunch of asshats that only care about fucking each other in the ass for their own agenda. Like dogs fighting over bones they have no sense of unity or purpose once they are the majority party.

The Health Care debacle is so divisive that there are just enough votes for it to pass, 60. This means that every Senator has, in effect, veto power over the life of this bill. The future of Health Care in this Country hinges on how many pockets can be lined and how many individual Senate agendas can be met. There are some that want Medicare expanded, some want Medicare to shrink, some refuse to support the bill because they think it will lead to Federally funded abortions. Better just keep the existing system of Federally ignored basic needs, that's the only way to be sure that no one gets shit!

Maybe it really is time to take a page from the British and adapt some concepts of a Constitutional Monarchy and it's parliamentary system of governance. Specifically the ability to dissolve ineffective Houses of Congress and the concept of votes of no confidence. Otherwise, my only hope for the future of Democracy is that has the Digital Age will allow us some kind of "real time" system of accountability for and approval of elected officials. The sad truth is that there is little to no incentive for a member of the Senate or House of Representatives to actually care about their individual constituents concerns. They are far more considerate of the large organized lobbies representing corporate interest....after all that's who's paying their REAL salaries.

WTF The Next Generation

This is awesome! I want some apple juice!



Props to the original.

Nice

Check out this awesome XMAS decoration.

I think they missed the point

Republican Senators are apparently very upset with Al Franken. They are pissed that he has called them out for voting down a bill that would have stopped supporting Government contractors that force their workers to waive their legal rights should they be raped.

So just to clarify. GOP Senators not opposed to rape, just opposed to the bad press that results from not being opposed to rape.

Get a life.

True and sad.




Props to the original.

Relax

Now this is one cool cat.



Props to the original.

Real Smooth

So a guy worth a billion dollars (about) has a penchant for slutty bar tramps? Come on Tiger...couldn't you have found something a little more high class? He's either a huge moron or he really believes he is above everyone else off the course as well as on it.

Douche.

You drunk monkey

It's educational AND hilarious!

Site may be NSFW (like you've got a real job anyway you bums)

Not so smart.

I think I wrote a blog post about this a few months ago but can't seem to find it. Here's a more detailed and fascinating look at how poor risk management has trashed the endowment of Harvard University. It would almost be funny if it wasn't for the fact that the "genius" in charge of this poor decision making hadn't been given a place of prominence within the Obama Administration.

Know your enemy.

Listen to these chuckle heads trying to explain why they like Sarah Palin. I got news for you morons, she about as "real" as a unicorn.

Anon FTW!

This is hilarious....and creepy.

Meant to be mocked

This is seriously the least cool thing I have ever seen. I warn you if you have any taste what so ever then you will avoid this one all together.

Now that's dark.

Do yourself a favor and read this article BEFORE you see the author's name, I did and it kind of surprised me a bit.

While I don't disagree with the substance of the article I do disagree with the intent. The article really paints a picture of a corrupt system that is in some way centrally controlled or manipulated with an absolute goal in mined. Personally, I think it's more of an consequence of what happens when you combine power and money. You end up with a very Machiavellin system, it's just the natural order of things.


The democrats always cry about the Republicans having no desire to change when they are in power and then act genuinely shocked when the GOP refuses to bend to their will. The Republicans always cry that the Democrats are going to spend the country into oblivion when they are in power and are shocked when the Democrats don't listen.

Holy SCIFI Crap!

Anyone that has ever played a first person shooter is familiar with the concept of the HUD or Heads Up Display. A major component of games like Doom or Quake is the idea of armor which is displayed on your HUD as a way to indicate how close to death you are. That's great in the gaming world but not real practical in "real" life.....until now.


This is some seriously cool shit.

I'd drive the balls off of it!

Last week I blogged about the awesome new Buick Regal. The secret to the Regal's goodness is that GM finally figured out that selling the same cars in the US that they sell in Europe is a good idea. Well, the Opel Insignia that the Regal is based off of now has a new version coming to market in Europe. What's different? How's about 100 more horsepower and a trick Haldex AWD system? There's no reason why they shouldn't be able to bring this version over as well, it's the same basic power train that is in the new Cadillac SRX.

Can you imagine walking into a Buick dealership and seeing that thing with it's 20" wheels...

Magically Tacky

Here's a story for you. A couple of weeks ago I was driving home on a cold rainy night and I happened to spot something sitting on a used car lot. It was a nuclear orange Ford Expedition with 22" chrome wheels, but that wasn't what caught my eye. What caught my eye was the amazingly tasteful airbrushing on three sides of this piece of automotive art.







That's right. It's the Lucky Charms leprechaun juggling golden dollar signs.

WTsuperF?

Talk about too much free time.

It's WAR!

It looks like Rupert Murdoch's insane threats may have an evil genius twist to them. Murdoch has threatened to "de-list" all News Corp. content from Google because he wants to get payed more for the content. Of course the real reason is that News Corp. is either too lazy or just incapable of actually monetizing their own content for the web but that's just too embarrassing to admit.

So the mad hatter of old media is going to bring about a new media war by signing a deal for his content with Microsoft. Basically, Microsoft will fork over a pile of cash to News Corp. to have exclusive access to News Corp. content so that they can try to increase the market share of their new Bing search service. It could be a big win for Microsoft and may actually help them claw back some market share from Google.

However, the real winner is Rupert Murdoch. He gets the money for his content AND he gets to watch the two largest players in the search business go to war with each other.

I'd drive it.

Buick is on the road to recovery, GM has finally figured out that the award winning version of cars they sell in Europe are what people in THIS country want these days. The newest Buick Regal is a nearly 1:1 translation of the car GM sells in Europe as the Insignia and it looks really good. It's too bad that GM is the last one to wake up to the fact that Infiniti and Lexus have carved a serious chunk out of Buick's business over the last decade.

The Definitive Black Friday List

If you're in the market for computers or electronics then you should certainly check this out. Gizmodo has compiled a list of the best Black Friday deals.

Do you hear trumpets?

Here it is....the first sign of the apocalypse to come. It won't be a meteor, magnetic pole reversal, an ice age or even alien invasion that brings about man's downfall. No, it will be the Palin/Beck ticket.

Run for your fucking lives. I'm building a rocket and getting off this planet.

Honesty at last

The best Sarah Palin interview yet. LOL.

Oil Scam

Check this shit out. Still doubting that the global oil market isn't being manipulated?

Ah...the irony.

The definition of irony is having your call for free speech censored. Way to go China!

The past is now.

Read this story from ARS Technica about a "computer company" named Blue Hippo. I remember seeing their commercials on late night TV and thinking, how the hell does that work? Apparently their business model did not work as advertised and they were just stealing peoples money.

My first "real" job after college was working for a company that sold home business computer systems for astronomical sums of money. The company overcharged for everything, in the mid 90's they were charging people $10-$20K for hardware and software that was "guaranteed" to make them a fortune from the comfort of their own home. Officially, my job title was technical support specialist. I spent endless hours on the phone helping people try to use the bloated, poorly written software and sub standard computer hardware.

It was frustrating job and most nights (I worked the 2-10PM graveyard shift) I was more of a shoulder to cry on for these people. It was obvious that most of them had been swindled into spending their life savings on a complete scam. After about nine months I was able to find a much better job and walk away from the misery that was that den of jackals.

About a year after I left the Federal Trade Commission levied a huge fine against the business and cited them for false advertising and being douchebags in general. All in all it was a really shitty way to start out my career.

Seriously?

If Michele Bachmann is really being touted has the future of the GOP then I am completely relieved. Her constant fear mongering and delusional ramblings only appeal to the wackiest of the right. She'll do nothing to bring any moderates back to the GOP and that is a good thing for us all. IMHO, I don't think there is an Obama Presidency disaster scenario bad enough to make her a serious player beyond her current wacky fringe.

Representative

The members of Congress are supposed to be elected representatives of the people they serve. They certainly aren't financially representative.

Nice weave

If you missed Andre Agassi's interview on 60 minutes you should really check it out. It's amazing but I had forgotten how pervasive he was in my childhood. My step brother really loved him. He had posters of him on his walls and wore the clothes he sponsored. The man has lead an amazing life and I think where he is now is nothing short of wonderful.

The Looming Showdown

Rupert Murdoch, the man who loves newspapers, is tinkering with the idea of preventing Google from indexing information on the servers of his leviathan media company. Murdoch believes that he can build a "pay wall" to prevent the unwashed masses from accessing his hard bought media without first paying for it. I appreciate the position that he is in; his company generates news information at a cost and they have failed to find a viable method to monetize Internet access to that information. There is no doubt that Murdoch is an extremely successful business man the problem is that the business that he knows and loves is dying out. For better or worse charging someone for news content is just not a workable solution given all the years of having that information freely available. Television and radio started stealing mindshare from newspaper a long time ago and the Internet is just the nail in the coffin.

America Online thought that they could make the "walled garden" idea of providing content a profitable business. For a while they were very successful because they had almost no competition. Once AOL users discovered the endless amounts of freely available content and services available on the Internet beyond AOL the game was up. Does News Corp. have enough compelling content to convince people to pay for it? There's an entire generation that has grown up with "free" access to media of all types via the Internet....no one likes to pay for something they used to get for free.

That sucks

Read this story about a woman that is allergic to her husband's sperm....talk about a buzkill. The story says they went out for two years before they discovered this little fact. I'll let you ponder the implications of that statement....needless to say he must really love her.

RIP PC Gaming

The Call of Duty series of games has been huge over the last few years selling millions of copies on virtually every platform out there. Not all of the version have been produced by the Infinity Ward but most agree the best versions of the game have been made by them.

They got their start making Call of Duty primarily for the PC because when the original game debuted that was the only good way to support online multiplayer. Then along came Xbox Live and for a while it was just kind of a joke compared to playing multiplayer games on a PC. While XBOX Live has come a long way in the last few years, especially since the XBOX360 launch, there are still HUGE problems that prevent the service from being superior to true online multiplayer.

Well Infinity Ward has officially stabbed PC Gaming in the back. The latest Call of Duty game is a console game first and a PC game just by accident. They have stripped anything of value out of the PC version of the game and basically turned it into a game not worth buying. I was really looking forward to Modern Warfare 2 but now I could care less. It shouldn't come as a surprise because console gaming is growing rapidly while PC gaming as a whole is dying.

Playing any game on XBOX Live these days in an exercise in pain. The average XBOX Live user is some 12 year old spoiled little shit with a mouth like a sailor who only cares about talking about how badass he thinks he is....until his mom makes him logoff to do his homework.

The Undead Car Brand

GM may have killed off Pontiac but you can never kill Pontiac fanboys. The TransAm depot is a company that specializes in restoring classic TransAms. But what they have come up with now is nothing short of staggering.

The Phoenix T/A conversion takes the newest Camaro SS (the long standing sister car to the TransAm) and completely re-skins it to look like what a true Pontiac T/A would look like. This thing makes the Camaro look like it was beat with an ugly stick.

I know....who in their right mind is going to pay $85K for a TransAm? Burt Reynolds?

Meet in the middle

Next time someone starts yammering about how ineffective Obama has been during the first year since he one the election you can bring up this article. Don't buy the hype....shit is changing.

ACT NOW!

Help save the Internet! Do your part to support Net Neutrality, you can contact your Congressional Representative via their website. Prevent Congress from allowing the telecommunications lobby to influence the direction of the Internet.

Subscribers wanted?

Apparently Apple is toying with offering a new service via iTunes. Basically, you would pay $30 a month for a subscription TV service fed via iTunes. So a flat rate $30 per month to download all the television shows that I normally pay 80$ to watch on cable? Hmm.....somehow I just don't think that is going to make Comcast very happy. If it's HD quality, the selection is good AND the commercials are shorter or non existent then this is could be fantastic!

This would really dovetail nicely with the rumors that Apple is re-thinking their lackluster AppleTV device. The AppleTV has pretty much failed to find a market and people were talking about Apple either revamping the existing device OR start selling LCD TVs with some kind of built-in "client" for iTunes. You can already buy a LCD TV with built in Netflix streaming so how hard would it be?

Awesome Costume

This is the best handicapped costume ever. May be NSFW.

The Prelude

I certainly won't criticize The President for honoring soldiers and agents that paid the ultimate price for our freedom but why now? I don't recall him attending one of these ceremonies before now so there must be a specific reason for this event. My guess is that he's made his decision on Afghanistan and this is a prelude to that announcement....

So will he commit the troops that the military is screaming for or is he about to pull the plug? I don't think he's going to go all in on this, IMHO.

You can't beat free

Google announced today that they would be providing free turn by turn navigation on smartphones running their Android operating system. Talk about a game changer.

First off it's a really bad day to be a stand alone GPS manufacturer like TomTom or Garmin. As a matter of fact TomTom's stock is down over 20% TODAY as of the time I write this. These GPS manufacturers have been charging big bucks for dedicated hardware, map updates and traffic services for years but here comes Google and says that a connected 3G smartphone can do all that for no extra cost.

Second, what does this mean for the current tension between Apple and Google? Did Apple go out and buy that mapping company knowing full well that this was coming from Google? If Google decides to make this service/application exclusive to the Android phone community and NOT the iPhone it could end up being a killer app for Android. There's no technical reason that it couldn't work on the iPhone.

I'm sure glad that I didn't spend $99 on the TomTom app for my iPhone because you can't beat free.

Boeing's Woes

The Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" is officially in development hell. The program is two years overdue with massive cost overruns and no real promise that Boeing doesn't have even more production issues left undiscovered. Has Boeing over reached its own grasp? Maybe they should rename the plane to the PipeDreamliner.

For years Boeing flirted with returning to the supersonic arena with a successor to the much missed Concord but they always said that it was too complex of a problem to tackle. Seems like they were right given the issues they've had engineering something far more mundane.

What did I just watch?

What's 40% Kill Bill, 40% Speed Racer and 20% The Matrix? Watch this trailer for a movie coming out in 2010 titled The Cup of Tears....it looks SWEET!!

The Cup of Tears film trailer. Dir. Gary Shore from Gary Shore on Vimeo.

Welcome to 1861

Wow....the RNC is really out to lunch these days.

A cold wind is a blowin'

The Obama era FCC has shown that they are not afraid to take on broadband internet providers. I applaud the FCC for actually stepping up and realizing that Net Neutrality is absolutely essential to the continued growth of the Internet. However, broadband providers are not going to take this laying down and several CEOs have already come out saying that if they can't regulate their networks then Internet access will either get more scarce or more expensive.

The providers are going to try to screw you out of as much money has possible. I have no problem paying more for the Internet because I DO use far more bandwidth than the average user. But I have NO FAITH in them pricing the bandwidth in a fair way. They have consistently oversold and under-expanded their networks and now they want to squeeze their user base for every last nickel.

Maybe the Government will just decide to do what Finland did and make Broadband a legal right to all its citizens....that would really screw up their business model.

I'm in a box

Balloon Boy parodies have officially gone viral, they are all over YouTube. Here's my favorite...

Gadget Porn

I enjoy reading books on my Kindle 2 but as a device it disappoints on many levels. The interface is pretty clunky and Amazon's closed off book selling nature has made reading ANYTHING but books bought from Amazon nearly impossible. While the Kindle supports MP3 and other audio formats it was clearly an afterthought...and so is web browsing.

I looked at the Sony eBook reader and it was tempting but it's lack of wireless connectivity was a deal breaker IMHO. Well here comes what I think will be a real Kindle killer, the Nook from Barnes & Noble. I never would have guessed that B&N could bring out a device superior to the Kindle but just look at this thing.

Donations accepted.

If any wants to make me a very happy boy then I'll take a new 27" iMac. For the first time in my life I'm looking at Apple computers and trying to justify that $2400 really isn't too much money for a desktop PC. Let's see just how cheaply I could "build" my own version of the 27" iMac.

Let's compare:

• 27" iMac
• 2.8Ghz quad core i7 cpu
• 8GB of 1066 DDR3 RAM
• 1TB HD
• ATI 4850/512MB video card
• That's $2400 total

Newegg built PC with very similar specs.

• 27" Acer monitor (slightly lower resolution than the iMac)
• 2.8Ghz quad core i7 CPU
• 6GB of 1333 DDR3 RAM (runs triple channel, 3 DIMMS)
• 1TB HD
• ATI 4850/1GB video Card
• Antec P183 case
  
• Windows 7 Ultimate
• I also threw in the other stuff the Mac includes like wifi, bluetooth, a webcam, a wireless mouse/keyboard and DVD burner.
• That's $1885 with shipping.

So I'm paying a $500 premium for the OSX operating system and form factor....that's pretty excessive. Not to mention that I could buy and install a faster video card or bigger HD in the PC if I wanted. Fucking Apple...you are so lucky that you've got great marketing.

Gulp.

Has the world's largest car manufacturer finally built something wonderful? The new Lexus (Toyota) LFA was announced at the Tokyo Motor Show and it is a sight to behold. Of course for $400,000 it better be nothing short of spectacular. While I'm impressed with the effort I can't help but feel outright stunned by that price tag, why aim to such a slim hypercar segment in these dire economic times? Where is my sub $50,000 replacement for the Supra, it's been ten years since there was a Toyota badge on a decent sports car.

Here's a video of the LFA doing it's thing....the sound this thing makes is nearly orgasmic.

Way to go spaz.

HSN and QVC have been providing hours of entertainment to shut-ins around this country for years. Obviously these poor lonely souls haven't discovered Amazon.com but overpaying for common household items is worth it when you get to see hilarity such as this little clip. Fast forward to the 5:00 minute mark....comedy gold.

Vacation

Took a week off and somehow I managed to stay completely away from the blog. I'm not even sure how I did that.

So there was only a few things last week that were really that interesting. The only thing I really want to comment on is that whole "balloon boy" event. All I have to say is any adult that thinks a 6 year old is going to back up their batshit crazy publicity stunt needs to be institutionalized.

To parody or not to parody

This may be my favorite Stephen Colbert piece yet this year.

Shocked?

I would say that President Obama wining the the Nobel Peace Peace Prize came as quite a surprise to most people....actually everyone. At first I was a little pissed because quite frankly he doesn't deserve it, at least not yet. Also, this will most likely cause an groundswell of anti-Obama rants from the radical right and help to shift some of the right leaning people in the middle to go back to drinking the Republican Koolaid.

Personally, I think what this award really represents is an affirmation from the International community that he has their support. I think we, as a country, lost a lot of our international standing in the debacles that Bush created. Everyone in the world has a vested interest in America regaining it's status both economically and ethically.

It's just like the Olympics bullshit. People that hate Obama will jeer this as unbelievable and he doesn't deserve it when the reality is that the leader of our Nation just received the most prestigious international award that a person can win.

How fancy.

Toyota is probably the world's largest automaker now. They recently had to launch one of the largest recalls in the history of the US auto industry to solve an issue with floor mats causing the accelerator to get stuck resulting in crashes and deaths.

So being the awesome company that they are how do you think Toyota has decided to address this potentially fatal flaw with your extremely expensive luxury automobile? Are they replacing the offending mats? Are they adding a new attachment point to keep that mat from moving? No, their fix is to use Zip ties. So you've spent $50K + on a Lexus ES350 and there is now a fucking zip tie holding the floor mat in place.....that's sweet.

Of course if it was BMW or Audi there would be some elaborate metal holder milled from a single piece of metal...it would be breathtaking. And it would cost $500.

Fair and balanced

There's a lot of dogmatic Republican crap on Fox News but every once in a while something prophetic sneaks out. This bit with Shep Smith is like the polar opposite of that video I posted a few weeks ago about Glenn Beck's two year reversal on our terrible/wonderful health care system.

The Walled World

Check out this Infographic. Pretty shocking to see the world's distribution of wealth isn't it. This one image should make you think of a whole host of cultural, sociological, and religious implications....it did for me.

Dollars to donuts

There's a lot of buzz this week about the rumors that oil producing nations are going to stop pricing oil in US Dollars. The rumor is that the Gulf States are going to create some kind of "basket" or index of international currencies to try and make the price of oil more of a global concern. I won't pretend to understand all of the implications of this scenario but would it really be that bad for America? This article at least addresses some of the reasons why having the US Dollar as the defacto world currency has had both good and bad effects on US citizens.

Shhh...

Here's a compilation of Stephen Colbert's best segments regarding Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Just write your own!

The Conservative Bible Project.


Seriously? I almost wish that I was a religious person so that this would offend me even more than it does. Talk about the ultimate example of revisionist history.

It's Growing

Watch the new Trump Tower in Chicago go from 0 to 92 stories in 2 minutes.

Word of the day

Today's word is: Pariah

I may despise Glenn Beck but I will give him credit for being a successful business person. Between his propaganda show on Fox News, radio addresses from his Berlin bunker and his manifesto quality books he has made a rather tidy fortune over the last few years. His TV and radio ratings are frighteningly good considering the vitriolic nature of his shows. That being said it should stand to reason that it is a publicists dream to get a unsolicited plug on one of his programs....or is it? Apparently the awesome rock band Muse didn't take to kindly to Beck's endorsement of their latest album titled The Resistance. Be sure to listen to the audio clip.

I love how Beck just laughs of the slight....deep down I think he knows how sad that really was. Even Lindsay Graham doesn't like Glenn's performances.

I promise...no more Glenn Beck posts today. I wonder what old Sarah Palin's up to?

Best URL ever.

This web site has the best URL ever!

http://twoyoutubevideosandamotherfuckingcrossfader.com/

I need to be a bureaucrat!

Apparently, Federal employees are overpaid. I need to get me a Government job!

De-Orbit

Looks like the Saturn car brand will not survive after all. Apparently Penske backed out of the deal and GM let the axe fall. Roger Smith's sad small car experiment has finally come to an end.

Saturn still has one of the most "modern" dealer networks out there and it would be a shame to see them all shuttered out right but unless one of the nascent Chinese brands can come up with some cash that's likely going to happen.

They've got my support

This is a cause I can really get behind.....hilarious.

THE BOOBY SCARE Featuring Alyson Hannigan, Emily Deschanel, Kat McPhee, Minka Kelly and Jaime King - watch more funny videos

mmmmmmm......Emily Deschanel.........mmmmmmmmmm.

Dichotomy

Is YouTube the greatest thing to ever hit the Internet or is it the harbinger for the downfall of our society? Here's a nice compilation video of the 100 most watched videos on YouTube.

Clocked!

Check out this link. People getting punched in the face while being filmed with high speed cameras....

Made a monkey out of me

Found this interesting YouTube video about how genetic markers and the Human Genome Project are helping to prove Darwin's Theory of Evolution.



It's a shame that this can't really PROVE the common descent theory but without viable DNA samples from the fossil record it's just not possible. Yet.

Don't you dare screw this up.

I've bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of computer and electronic equipment over the last few years. I would say that 90% of the computer related hardware that I have purchased as come from one company, Newegg. You can always tell a non-geek because when you mention the word Newegg they always look at you funny. They don't advertise in "mainstream" media and they don't get talked about on the news. What they do is sell computer hardware and lots of it.

Newegg announced today they are going to go public via an IPO. I swear to dog if this screws up my favorite place to buy PC parts I will go postal.

Right and wrong.

Here's another fantastic TED Talk by a social psychologist named Jonathan Haidt. He talks about the moral differences between people that identify themselves as liberals or conservatives. I found it to be fascinating and well worth the 18 minutes.

Mind....blown.

The Hubble Space Telescope has expanded the field of astronomy by enormous leaps over the last two decades. Most people don't really appreciate just what Hubble as done for helping us to understand the Universe. This video is awesome and if it doesn't amaze you then you are dead inside.

Rambler

If you missed the highlights of Crazy Khadafy's speech to the UN last week then you are missing out. He was only supposed to talk for 15 minutes but ended up waxing crazy for over 90 minutes. Apparently even his own personal translator couldn't take the nonsense he was throwing around.

Now that is deep.

Absolutely fantastic interview with Rachel Maddow and Frank Schaeffer. Schaeffer wrote a great book about being raised as an evangelical christian and man does he have something to say about it.

Weasel

Answer the fucking question!



He has no answers...none. Anyone that turns to Glenn Beck for advice should be lobotomized.

Dead Hand

This is a fascinating article in Wired about the Russian Doomsday Device that was lampooned in the Stanley Kubrick classic, Dr. Strangelove. The movie mocked the idea of the Cold War and escalating nuclear tensions between the US and the USSR. In the movie the Russians had built a "Doomsday" device that would automatically retaliate should the US ever attack Russia with nuclear weapons.

Well this is no joke....such a system actually exists and may still be online to this day.


Sleep tight!

Just make it already!

I posted a few weeks back about the ongoing saga of a movie based on the Halo video game series. This week saw the release of yet another Halo game called Halo 3:ODST which is apparently selling like hotcakes, so where is the damn movie? The Halo universe is obviously compelling and more than capable of bringing in the cash.

Peter Jackson and the Neill Blomkamp were working on the original concept for the Halo movie until the studio bean counters got concerned that the budget was out of control for the project. I'm sure those same studio execs are crying themselves to sleep after seeing how successful (and fucking awesome) the Jackson/Blomkamp production of District 9 has done in the theaters. Blomkamp has gone on to say that he now has no interest in going back to the Halo franchise...with the success of District 9 this guy can call his own shots now.

So is the Halo movie franchise cursed or dead? Sure Steven Spielberg is attached to this project now but is he going to direct it or just produce it? I just don't see him bringing the kind of "edge" to this project that it needs. Watching District 9 I can't help think that Blomkamp's Halo would have been amazing.

I made the bold claim that the Halo Believe ad that ran for the Halo 3 game was the best commercial that I had ever seen. The Director and team of people that were responsible for that advertisement created a new, and completely different, kind of ad for the new Halo 3:ODST game. This may even be better than the Believe ad...this team of people deserve a shot at making a Halo movie. This ad is more like a trailer for a movie than a trailer for a video game...

Bling life

Take a look at this post with pictures of confiscated weapons and property from Mexican drug lords. These guys know how to live.

Stay Cool

This is interesting and local for me so check this story out.

Bust that myth

Mythbusters has to be one of my favorite TV shows, it just feeds my inner geek. Adam Savage tends to lead a more public existence and I've linked to a couple of his lecture videos in the past. His partner Jamie Hynemann is a bit more shy and retiring but he has led a pretty interesting life. He also grew up in my home state and got a degree from Indiana University....I never knew that.

Fear the Pr0n

Sigh.....the religious right is always good for a laugh. Read this.

All those years looking at Playboy magazine I thought what I really liked was hot, bouncy boobies. I feel so misled.


LOL

Tons O' Fun

Great story about how the US recovered TONS of highly enriched nuclear material from Kazakhstan before it could fall into the wrong hands. Hell, Kazakhstan is practically in Al Qaeda's back yard!

The Power Vacuum

At some point in the very near future President Obama is going to have to make a choice about what is going to define his Presidency. If he can pull off Universal Health Care then he may be known as the great "Domestic" policy President bringing about the greatest change in this country's domestic policy since the Civil Rights movement. That alone could be his greatest legacy, but what about foreign policy?

The argument for continuing the war in Afghanistan has always been that we have to build up the Afghan Government so that they can defend their own nation from the Taliban threat. Of course that Government has to be established along the lines that the US Government regards as acceptable, I.E. a freely elected Democratic (mostly) system. There is startling evidence that the recent election was so corrupt that it should be in no way considered "freely elected".

So what are Americans and ISAF soldiers fighting for now? Is the Obama Administration ready to walk away from Afghanistan and declare it a lost cause? There seems to be resistance to committing additional troops to try and improve the situation facing the military commanders in charge.

Let's face it Iraq was Bush's folly, or Cheney's more likely, and should never have happened but there were clear reasons for going into Afghanistan. The whole point was to defeat the Taliban and eradicate their influence on the region. The Taliban has not been defeated and if we pull out now you can be sure that Afghanistan will go right back to being a haven for international terrorist organizations.

Mr. Obama, you are painted in a corner. Sorry about that.

Old School

One of my favorite podcasts out there is TWiT (This Week in Tech) featuring the always great host, Leo Laporte. Leo has been a tech guru for a long time and SOME of you may remember him from a fantastic show that was on the ZDNet/TechTV channel called The Screen Savers. Here is a classic clip from that show featuring The Ultimate Gaming Machine circa 1998...for some of you out there this will bring back some great memories.



I had a WaveBlaster add-on card that I spent some ridiculous amount of money on but man did it make Doom sound freaking badass.

I'm frightened and confused.

This story scares me. Bill O'Reilly has said on his own show that he now supports the "public option" of Universal Health Care.

Up is down, black is white, dogs and cats living together.....

He must have shorted some HMO stocks or something, he has to have SOME angle on this.

Falsetto

If you can only visit one site today....then this is it.

I recommend you watch the video titled Little Wings....such haunting melodies.

Limbaugh the visionary

Here's a great story about how Rush Limbaugh thinks that we should have segregated buses for whites and blacks.

I just don't have the strength to comment on this today, it's too depressing. All I will say is that old, fat, white xenophobes like Limbaugh should be afraid of what the future holds because there will be no future for them.

WTF did you say?

I love the look on the female anchor's face but to the guy's credit....he was smooth about it.

Fear Mongering Insanity

I'm sorry but Michelle Bachmann has come to symbolize for me everything that is wrong with the Republican Party. She uses hyperbolic statements to drive fear into the hearts and minds of the uninformed masses. She draws conclusions that are not only wrong but just plain fucking crazy. Watch this shit.



Here we go...

1. SUVs are getting smaller because most people don't need a 20 foot long truck to go to work in. Also, most people can't afford to fill up the gas tank in that monster truck because of the financial disaster brought about by the previous administration's "head in the sand" economic policy.
2. Of course Government Regulated energy would be more expensive...right? I mean look at what unregulated free market capitalism did to the energy market in California. Everyone looks back and agrees that Enron had it right!!
3. I can only assume that her crazy food rant is in reference to the new Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 which was written to strengthen the FDA's ability to investigate cases of tainted food. Apparently she has no issue with you eating salmonella tainted peanut butter as long as you can eat as much as you want!!

Maybe if she spent less time grandstanding on television and on the House floor she'd have some time to actually do her job and READ THE FUCKING LEGISLATION THAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT.



Every time I hear the word "freedom" cross her lips I think of this scene from Braveheart. Not that I want to see her drawn and quartered of course.

It's ALIVE!!

Toyota has decided to breath some life into the snoozefest that is the Lexus product line. Check out the new LF-A supercar, it looks interesting but I'm not sure if I like it or not. It's certainly not beautiful but most Japanese supercars are more to the nerdy/technical side. Compared to the forthcoming Ferrari 458 it's just plain fugly.

ROJO!!!!!!!

This is hilarious.

The Inside Man

There is a new book coming out by one of former President Bush's speechwriters, the first of many I would assume. Some excerpts from the book have been posted on GQ...they are interesting to say the least.

I'd like to think that the private image of Bush is better than his public portrayal. This article almost makes me feel sad for him.

Crapware

Mint has been one of my favorite things for the last couple of years and I used it regularly. Unfortunately, they are being acquired by Intuit...crapware maker.

I've had so many horrible experiences with Intuit products that I have absolutely no faith that they wont totally screw up Mint.

That just sucks.

The reason.

Being a nerd is considered chic these days but that wasn't always true. It's shit like this that gave geeks a bad name back in the day.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Fishsticks

Kanye West......the biggest douche in the world.

Yes....he makes some decent music but man is this guy an asshole.

Now you know

I didn't even realize that Dubai was working on a metro-rail/subway system but apparently they are and the first sections of the system opened this week. This really surprised me given the fact that most of the people living in this region have a serious love affair with the car. It's a really impressive system and here is a video running at a high speed to show the entire journey. FYI: at around 45 seconds in you can see the Burj Dubai dwarfing the buildings around it.

Almost perfect.

Since the new version of iTunes came out on Wednesday I've spent several hours playing with my iPhone and I have come to two conclusions.

First, I love my iPhone and I could not possibly comprehend life without it at this point. Second, I hate this fucking iPhone and I'm going to smash it will a shovel. That may seem somewhat schizophrenic to some of you but those of you that have and iPhone will probably agree. Here is my analysis of my iPhone.


Loves

• The overall look an feel is fantastic. The build quality makes most other phones seem like cheap toys....I'm looking at you Nokia.
• The interface (post software version 3.0) is a beautiful thing.
• Apps, Apps, APPS! There are so many good apps out there it is overwhelming.
• Great internet browser, only really limited by the screen size but it still works great.
• The screen is fantastic for photos and video.
  

HATES!

• Battery life....what a fucking joke. You build a great device that I WANT TO USE and then cripple it with awful battery life. I've had my 3G for a year now and my battery won't make it a full day anymore with moderate use. I'll take a thicker, heavier device if it had 25%-50% better battery life or a swappable battery (what a novel concept).
  
• Call quality sucks. That may be more AT&Ts problem than Apple but sometimes I sound like a U-Boat Commander on the bottom of the Atlantic.
• No background apps. Come on Apple, if Palm can figure it out then you can. Of course I shudder to think what that would do to my craptastic battery life at this point but I want my damn IM client running in the background! Why should I keep shoveling money into AT&Ts pockets for text messages?
• GIVE ME GOD DAMN FLASH SUPPORT IN MOBILE SAFARI BEFORE I HUNT YOU DOWN!
  

Other shit

• Yes, I love the interface but I don't want to have to go three menus deep to turn on/off bluetooth or wifi. I can't run either one full time because of the previsouly mentioned shit battery life. How about adding a user selectable "switch" identical to the silent switch but on the opposite side? I would want to choose what function it performs but it could toggle wifi, bluetooth, or airplane mode. That would be so sweet.
  
• And one more button that could serve has a general launcher. It could be a play/pause button or it could start the camera app or act has the "shutter" button for the camera. I know that Apple is fastidious about their design aesthetic but this could really improve usability.
  

A Time and Place for Everything

Over the last few weeks the GOP and their cohorts have a done a great job of sowing the seeds of discontent for Health Care Reform. The atmosphere at some of the town hall meetings has been toxic and unproductive to say the least. In some respects these scenes are expected when dealing with the misinformed and scared general public. However, Joe Wilson the Republican Representative from South Carolina took his discord to a nearly unheard of level last night. He decided that shouting his dissent at The President during a special session of Congress was the best way to voice his displeasure.

Talk about a bad idea....if you haven't seen the video it is worth it for the crowd reaction alone. Fast forward to 2:00 minutes for the event.



I think someone just got taken off of the Obama christmas card list.

Fix something else

Walmart wants to crush it's competition and over the last 10-15 years it's done a pretty good job. Now Walmart wants to re-invent their stores to make them feel more upscale but still offer the same low prices.

My two biggest problems with Walmart are 1.) their employees and 2.) the people that shop there. Walmart can't fix the first one since they are unwilling (or financially adverse to) paying a decent wage to attract people that give a shit. They can't fix the second one because of the very nature of their lowest price business model naturally attracts the downtrodden.

It may be the elitist, Republican(reformed) Douchebag in me saying this but going to Walmart is fucking scary. My local stores are generally filled with child beaters, mouth breathers and incredibly fat people. Sprinkle some unhelpful meth-addicted "associates" on top and you have got a sociological experiment gone awry.

I'll spend a little extra to shop a Target...and keep my soul intact.

Failure to launch

I've blogged in the past about the huge problems NASA is having with the Ares program. It looks like an independent panel to the President has also drawn some fairly bleak conclusions about NASA's replacement for the Space Shuttle and the possibility of making back to the moon in the near future.

I can't believe that part of the Shuttle phase out/go back to the Moon proposal that Bush floated was to decommission the ISS by 2015...that's insane. The Russians kept Mir up there 15 years using duct tape and 30 year old "Progress" supply ships for fuck's sake.

The quagmire that is the Ares program makes NASA look like a joke. How could they have gone so far in the day's of the Apollo program and now come up so short? Is NASA too safety minded now to engineer a vehicle system with enough compromises to actually work? Is their "acceptable risk" level to high to allow us to continue going into space? I doubt that ANY previous vehicle (Mercury/Apollo/Space Shuttle) would get built today because it would have not met the insane requirements that NASA is trying to meet.

Be still my beating heart

Mercedes is bringing back the classic Sl known has the "Gullwing". Man is it pretty....I'm sure it will be pretty expensive.