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Thursday, September 25, 2008

I received an interesting comment

Yesterday I received a new comment on a post I wrote back in December entitled, "If you could make a million dollars a year doing anything, what would it be?" In response to that question, a person named Gary left the following:

I would enjoy being a personal companion to anyone in need of having the company of someone who is selfless, highly intelligent, and close to the Source of all there is now, was or will ever be. The gifts I can bestow upon another far exceed what is anything commonly known by mankind, given the other person's ability to free their mind and open up to new realms of thought and being.

Gifts that far exceed anything commonly known by mankind? That sounds worthy of a sign-up sheet! So I put it to you, dear readers...who would like to sign up for Gary's companionship, should he ever start earning a seven-figure income? First come, first served. Leave word in the comments.

Monday, September 22, 2008

A dream come true


Well, kind of a dream come true. I was hoping they were doing hand-scooped ice cream on top of donut. Doesn't a scoop of really good strawberry ice cream on top of a warm, glazed Krispy Kreme donut sound good? Or am I just weird like that? Instead, they're adding soft-serve and a topping bar. Hmmm... not convinced that's going to do the trick, but heres hopin'.

See the story here.

Friday, September 19, 2008

UPDATED: In case you were wondering, I could survive 1 min 19 seconds

I could survive for 1 minute, 19 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

I dunno. I'm curious as to their methodology - I think I could last longer.

Jump over, take the test, and come back and leave word in the comments about how long you'd last.

UPDATE: I showed this to some friends at work and we had quite the in-depth discussion about the finer points of being chained to the bed with a velociraptor. Seriously, the discussion lasted about 15 minutes and covered important topics such as:

  • Who can't jump more than a foot? (Complete with a demonstration by Gary)
  • A better use of the severed arm would be to use it as bait, or to distract it from eating the parts of you that are still attached.
  • The idea of getting the raptor to chase you around the bed until it was wound up so tight it couldn't attack you anymore was brought up, but quickly dismissed because then you'd be wrapped up around the bed too.
  • Who could get a raptor chained to a bed in the first place?
  • Punching a raptor in the mouth is a dumb idea.
  • Which location on/around the bed is most advantageous?
  • Why would you allow yourself to be chained to a bed with a velociraptor in the first place?
  • Running away from dangerous animals is not the same thing as fighting them.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Craig Ferguson on the media, politics and our duty

I particularly like his comments on how the media is handling things. Be sure and watch it to the end.

It's a shame we can't use clips from this in our "get out and vote" campaign.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Monday, September 15, 2008

Gov. Palin and Sen. Clinton on SNL

You may have seen it already, but Tina Fey does a great job as Palin and I must say that they seemed to bash on both women equally. Well done!

The 5k Marathon


Last Saturday I ran a 5k marathon. See above picture of me crossing the finish line. For those of you who aren't familiar with 5k marathons, it's a 5k for people who haven't trained at all, so it feels like they've just run a marathon.

Considering I used to adamantly hate running, I'm pretty happy with the fact that I did it voluntarily. I'm also pleased that I 1. finished and 2. ran the entire distance.

Yeah. That's about it.

Photo courtesy of here.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Magnetic curtain

I think this is pretty cool.


See more shots here.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Microsoft's second ad is out, and it's better

 The second ad in the Seinfeld/Gates/Windows campaign launched last night and hit the intertubes shortly after. I must say I like this one better. It's funnier and ties in better (although still loosely) to the actual product they're promoting. Check the ads out here.

Note: It looks like Microsoft is using Flash to run the ads instead of Silverlight, despite the "Get Silverlight" link next to the video. See below.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld aren't gay

Boy oh boy. People sure are reading a lot into Microsoft's new ad. I've heard everything from the phallic nature of the churro and the implication of two men shoe shopping with leather references to outcast minorities.

It's not a typical commercial. It's 90 seconds and doesn't mention the product until the last four seconds. The rest of it is filled with...nothing. And that's the point. Kind of.

What was Seinfeld all about? It was a show about nothing. Bill Gates is shopping at the "Quality shoes at discount prices store" not as some allegory to say that a Windows machine is less expensive than the Mac, but because it's funny that the richest man in the world is shopping for shoes at a discount store in the mall.

It's also funny that Jerry, also very wealthy, knows exactly which kind of shoes are available and their different qualities.

When Jerry is sizing Bill's feet and asks if what he's feeling is Bill's toe, Bill responds. "No. It's pleather." It's a joke. Get it? It actually sounds like something my sister in-law would say. Bonus: Bill isn't even buying real leather shoes.

I don't think the Hispanic folks who are looking in the store window are a symbol of the outcast people in third world countries who don't even recognize these famous, rich people shopping inside. I think it was a random clip to stick in to break up the shots in the shoe store.

I don't think Bill holding up his platinum membership card to the shoe store to earn "big top points" is symbolic of how Microsoft rewards its customers. I think it was a chance to work a joke in, as well as a more subtle bonus joke: the picture on the card is Gates' mug shot when he was arrested for speeding in New Mexico.

I understand, to a certain extent, why people are digging so deep to find meaning in the commercial because it doesn't talk about Windows at all. But the homo-erotic and/or Microsoft/discount shoe store symbolism people are trying to establish is simply ridiculous.

By itself, the ad doesn't work, no matter how deep you look at it. The additional spots in the campaign will shed some light on the direction they're taking and will tie it all together. In the meantime, take it for what it is: a quirky, somewhat entertaining spot.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Google is getting creepy

So as if Google didn't know enough about you, it now has the capability of recognizing faces in your Picasa albums. (For those of you who don't know what Picasa is, it's Google's version of Flickr, which is a popular online photo storage and sharing service.)

Draw a little box around a face and Google will analyze all your photos and find the ones that person is also in. You can then label all those pictures for easy reference later. So, for example, I'd highlight my mom's face in one image and Google finds the rest of the pictures I've taken of my mom. I label them all "Mom" and even link the picture to my contacts in Gmail.

So, yeah. Google now has pictures and contact information for everyone in your photo albums.

What are your thoughts on this?

Generation gap


My parents watch 22 minutes of the evening news to get to the weather forecast.

I open my laptop and hit "F12".

Just an observation.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Support the The Fake Diddy Private Jet Fuel Fund


That's it. It's officially gone too far. Diddy had to retire his private jet and fly on a commercial airline. Via CNN:

"I'm actually flying commercial.... This is really happening, proof gas prices are too high. Tell whoever the next president is we need to bring gas prices down."

I feel you Diddy, and I'm on it. I'm going to write a very strongly worded letter to the next president informing him that he needs to bring down gas prices so you can get back to flying in your private jet.

Seriously, having to fly first class when you're used to flying private is an outrage, especially for a person of your stature who is doing so much good in the world by promoting good values and lifting people's spirits.

And because of that, I've decided to set up a special fund called The Fake Diddy Private Jet Fuel Fund. All donations made to the fund may find their way to Diddy to ensure this travesty concerning his travel arrangements is ended as soon as possible. I know you have many other worthy organizations asking for your time and money, but please consider the following: starving kids in Africa don't know any different, whereas Diddy knows what he's missing out on. So, please, click the "donate" link below and give as much as you can.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE








Images courtesy of here and here.