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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.