For some reason, my official Blogger widget for OS X isn't accepting my password. I even went in and changed it and it still doesn't work. So now I'm posting via some sissy purple widget. *sigh* I suppose it'll have to do.
Anyone else out there having trouble with the Blogger widget?
Friday, March 31, 2006
Missing The Office
Last night I had a meeting that was, unfortunately, scheduled at 8:00. Alas, I was to miss a new episode of The Office. Fortunately, Apple is marvelous and I consoled myself in the point that I could download the episode this morning on iTunes and watch it on my iPod at the gym.
What, ho! I awake this morning and THE NEW EPISODE ISN'T AVAILABLE!
I mourned for a bit, and then the ol' brain started spinning. Why wasn't it available? What could cause such a fallacy?
Here are three theories:
1. Someone fell asleep at the wheel and it just didn't get done. The most likely scenario, but also the most boring.
2. B.J. Novak read my blog from yesterday, felt threatened, and retaliated.
3. Apple is planning on some kind of significant upgrade to their video content/distribution for their 30th Anniversary this weekend and are holding off on releasing anything new until it's launched.
Update: It was finally put up at about 10:00 this morning. (It was actually put on iTunes before I wrote this. But I needed to blog about something today.)
What, ho! I awake this morning and THE NEW EPISODE ISN'T AVAILABLE!
I mourned for a bit, and then the ol' brain started spinning. Why wasn't it available? What could cause such a fallacy?
Here are three theories:
1. Someone fell asleep at the wheel and it just didn't get done. The most likely scenario, but also the most boring.
2. B.J. Novak read my blog from yesterday, felt threatened, and retaliated.
3. Apple is planning on some kind of significant upgrade to their video content/distribution for their 30th Anniversary this weekend and are holding off on releasing anything new until it's launched.
Update: It was finally put up at about 10:00 this morning. (It was actually put on iTunes before I wrote this. But I needed to blog about something today.)
Thursday, March 30, 2006
I swear I just saw B.J. Novak
I was concepting with an art director across the street in a hotel lobby (we have to do that now since there isn't a concepting room here anymore) when, I could swear, B.J. Novak (the intern, Ryan, in The Office) walked out of the elevators and past us.
I instinctively did the "Hey, I recognize you from somewhere" head nod, but didn't realize at first who I was, or thought I was, looking at. I told a doubtful Ryan to take a look. He at least confirmed the incredible likeness.
What sealed the deal for me though was that when "B.J." walked out of the building, I noticed he was wearing a new Puma hat (and, as you can see from the picture, The Office gang recently signed an endorsement deal with Puma).
Granted, I have no idea what he would be doing in Salt Lake and at that specific hotel, but I'm pretty darn sure it was him.
What would I have done if he'd walked back toward the elevators instead of outside? Eh. Probably asked if it was him, and if it was have said, "The show's great. Keep up the good work." Nothing too exciting, but I'm not really the stalker type.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
We love them
Ryan and I feel the need to express our love for those we Scare-O-Nate. We love you. We do it because you're good-natured people and we're fond of you. We wish we could hang out on the weekend, although that would be awkward. You're the kind of people who we admire. The top percentile. We, in fact, love you.
Or your desk happens to face away from your office door.
Sincerely,
Team Scare-O-Nater
Or your desk happens to face away from your office door.
Sincerely,
Team Scare-O-Nater
Sunday, March 26, 2006
New Look?
What do you think of the new template I'm using? Is it working? Sound off in the comments.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Good people
I have had a realization again tonight, and it is that I have been blessed to be associated with great people throughout my entire life. Growing up, in collge, on my mission, work... all great people. It's humbling to think that I get to spend time and, in some cases, be related to such amazing people. I've known so many who are just inherently good. They're great examples to me, and then I married my wife and...wow...she's the epitome of what I want to become.
In short, I've been blessed to keep company with extraordinary people, and I sincerely hope I'm worthy of their friendship.
In short, I've been blessed to keep company with extraordinary people, and I sincerely hope I'm worthy of their friendship.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Microsoft Should Make Cars
A tidbit I picked up from a friend's blog:
MICROSOFT SHOULD MAKE CARS
At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon." In response to Bill's comments/General Motors issued a press release stating the following:
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally, your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would accept this, restart, and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart; in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought 'Car95' or 'CarNT.' Then you would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was more reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water, temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single 'general car fault' warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same butt size.
9. The airbag system would say 'Are you sure?' before going off.
10. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You'd press the 'Start' button to shut off the engine.
MICROSOFT SHOULD MAKE CARS
At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon." In response to Bill's comments/General Motors issued a press release stating the following:
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally, your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would accept this, restart, and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart; in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought 'Car95' or 'CarNT.' Then you would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was more reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water, temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single 'general car fault' warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same butt size.
9. The airbag system would say 'Are you sure?' before going off.
10. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You'd press the 'Start' button to shut off the engine.
The iPhone
That's it! That's what Apple should do! Release the iPhone, but not through a specific carrier! Leave them unlocked (GSM, of course) and you can insert the SIM card from your existing carrier into it.
Brilliant!
Granted, the iPhone wouldn't be subsidized by a wireless contract, but if people are willing to spend $300 for an iPod, why not get an iPhone that does that, and more (with perhaps a smaller capacity), for roughly the same price?
Granted, I'm assuming it would be roughly the same price. If you can get a Treo for about $300 with a service activation, it would seem that an iPhone that isn't compatible/as compatible with the general PC market would be a big enough disadvantage to keep the cost lower.
Then again, Sony Ericsson released the W800i which would essentially do most of the same things as said iPhone, and SE was selling it without a contract for $500. Apple does have amazing memory hookups though, so that price could go down, or at the very least should include a heck of a lot more than the 2 GB card that came with the W800i.
Let's break it down, shall we? To make a decent cell phone doesn't cost all that much. As far as the reception-factor goes, you can get free phones that work just fine as phones, but aren't loaded with features. Apple has the MAJOR hookups with batteries, flash memory and screens. Heck, use a vertical 5G iPod screen. Now all you're lacking is a camera (I would expect at least a 1 megapixel) and an GUI (OS X/iTunes-inspired, no doubt). The battery connector would be the same as an iPod, so you could still sync to a computer and use your third party iPod accessories with it.
It's also important to remember that there is talk of Apple creating its own MVNO. The only problem with that is they'd probably choose Cingular. The question then arises: do I love Apple more than I hate Cingular? I honestly don't know.
Maybe they won't go with Cingular. I mean, the ROKR wasn't exactly a whopping success... would Cingular cut them any kind of deal if they wanted to create an MVNO? Hehehe... perhaps Stevie J. leverages his ties at Disney to give Cingular inexpensive content in exchange for a reduced MVNO lease.
Steve, if you're reading this, first of all know that you're my hero. Second, please, please, please make the iPhone affordable and for the love of all that is pearly and white, DON'T GO THROUGH CINGULAR!
UPDATE:
Hey Apple, want some extra battery life for that iPhone? Check out what NEC's put together: 50 hours of music playback on a cell phone. Click here.
Brilliant!
Granted, the iPhone wouldn't be subsidized by a wireless contract, but if people are willing to spend $300 for an iPod, why not get an iPhone that does that, and more (with perhaps a smaller capacity), for roughly the same price?
Granted, I'm assuming it would be roughly the same price. If you can get a Treo for about $300 with a service activation, it would seem that an iPhone that isn't compatible/as compatible with the general PC market would be a big enough disadvantage to keep the cost lower.
Then again, Sony Ericsson released the W800i which would essentially do most of the same things as said iPhone, and SE was selling it without a contract for $500. Apple does have amazing memory hookups though, so that price could go down, or at the very least should include a heck of a lot more than the 2 GB card that came with the W800i.
Let's break it down, shall we? To make a decent cell phone doesn't cost all that much. As far as the reception-factor goes, you can get free phones that work just fine as phones, but aren't loaded with features. Apple has the MAJOR hookups with batteries, flash memory and screens. Heck, use a vertical 5G iPod screen. Now all you're lacking is a camera (I would expect at least a 1 megapixel) and an GUI (OS X/iTunes-inspired, no doubt). The battery connector would be the same as an iPod, so you could still sync to a computer and use your third party iPod accessories with it.
It's also important to remember that there is talk of Apple creating its own MVNO. The only problem with that is they'd probably choose Cingular. The question then arises: do I love Apple more than I hate Cingular? I honestly don't know.
Maybe they won't go with Cingular. I mean, the ROKR wasn't exactly a whopping success... would Cingular cut them any kind of deal if they wanted to create an MVNO? Hehehe... perhaps Stevie J. leverages his ties at Disney to give Cingular inexpensive content in exchange for a reduced MVNO lease.
Steve, if you're reading this, first of all know that you're my hero. Second, please, please, please make the iPhone affordable and for the love of all that is pearly and white, DON'T GO THROUGH CINGULAR!
UPDATE:
Hey Apple, want some extra battery life for that iPhone? Check out what NEC's put together: 50 hours of music playback on a cell phone. Click here.
Monday, March 20, 2006
A big practical joke
I was spacing out for a bit just now, and had a thought: what if you could make gigantic, fake Godzilla legs and attach them to some kind of hydraulic lift on the roof of a building. When you turn it on, it would make it look like Godzilla was walking past your building to the people working inside.
Wow. That'd be cool.
OK. Back to work.
Wow. That'd be cool.
OK. Back to work.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Man flesh
I gave a talk in church today (it was stunnning... everyone was translated) which gave me an opportunity to view the congregation from the stand. This raises the question: why must all old men expose six inches of their pasty white shin skin when they cross their legs? Seriously. This old guy was sitting in the front row, and his brilliantly white leg was reflecting the chapel lights to such a degree that I found myself squinting. Can't they tell their pant leg is hiked up, exposing a harshly contrasted dress sock and sun-depraved leg? Don't they feel a draft or something?
My wife supposes they just don't care. Old people tend to not care about a lot of stuff they should probably care about. Like the fact that they can't drive.
My wife supposes they just don't care. Old people tend to not care about a lot of stuff they should probably care about. Like the fact that they can't drive.
Friday, March 17, 2006
The missing fish
How does one lose a fish? It's not like a dog that can dig under the fence and run away, nor a cat that is simply too stupid to find its way home. No, losing a fish is not so easy to do, but always results in the same inevitable fate: the fish dies.
Such is the speculated case with Jeremy's now-presumed-dead fish, Jackie Chan. Jeremy came back to work one day to find that Mr. Chan had vacated his little home. Fish have been known to leap from their watery confines, but here's the mystery of it all: the body was never found.
Jeremy searched high and low in his office, even using a flashlight to search in crevasses which no mortal fish could leap to. The nearest body of water is the bathroom which is located down a hallway, through the lobby, into the foier, through a door and into a stall. Impossible!
Then again, this fish was named Jackie Chan.
I call upon my faithful readers (all four of you) to keep an eye out for Jackie. If he can escape his bowl, and the office in which he was housed, there's no telling where he could be.
P.S. It should be noted that Brett has a theory that Jackie was such a ravenous fighting fish that he actually ate himself.
Such is the speculated case with Jeremy's now-presumed-dead fish, Jackie Chan. Jeremy came back to work one day to find that Mr. Chan had vacated his little home. Fish have been known to leap from their watery confines, but here's the mystery of it all: the body was never found.
Jeremy searched high and low in his office, even using a flashlight to search in crevasses which no mortal fish could leap to. The nearest body of water is the bathroom which is located down a hallway, through the lobby, into the foier, through a door and into a stall. Impossible!
Then again, this fish was named Jackie Chan.
I call upon my faithful readers (all four of you) to keep an eye out for Jackie. If he can escape his bowl, and the office in which he was housed, there's no telling where he could be.
P.S. It should be noted that Brett has a theory that Jackie was such a ravenous fighting fish that he actually ate himself.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Windows Live Mail
As many know, or could easily deduce from this blog, I like to try out the latest and greatest. Windows Live (www.live.com) is their answer to Google's search engine, and Live Mail is their answer to Gmail. I'd love to preview Microsoft's response to everything Google so I'm definitely interested when this appears in my Hotmail inbox (click to zoom):
Way to go Microsoft! You've got me interested and excited about your new product! I am ready and willing to "join now".
What's this? I try to click the big, orange, desiged-very-similarly-to-Apple's-OS-buttons-but-with-poor-off-
centered-typography-button and...nothing.
What Microsoft? It doesn't work? You sent out a busted e-mail to your target audience? Or was it never supposed to work and is simply misleading? Either way, it's frustrating and disappointing... two adjectives I've come to associate with Microsoft.
UPDATE:
Brett was able to log into his Live Mail account and let me check it out. The verdict? Blah. Sure it uses AJAX now, but it basically looks like a stripped down version of Hotmail.
Way to go Microsoft! You've got me interested and excited about your new product! I am ready and willing to "join now".
What's this? I try to click the big, orange, desiged-very-similarly-to-Apple's-OS-buttons-but-with-poor-off-
centered-typography-button and...nothing.
What Microsoft? It doesn't work? You sent out a busted e-mail to your target audience? Or was it never supposed to work and is simply misleading? Either way, it's frustrating and disappointing... two adjectives I've come to associate with Microsoft.
UPDATE:
Brett was able to log into his Live Mail account and let me check it out. The verdict? Blah. Sure it uses AJAX now, but it basically looks like a stripped down version of Hotmail.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Super Dell Snapped
The headline says it all. Visit my friend Brett's Blog for the details and a link to KSL's nightly news report on the subject. It's definitely worth your time.
P.S. Say Super Dell, isn't that your logo with an OS X desktop background?
Friday, March 03, 2006
Nameless
We have a client, who shall remain nameless (literally). We were asked to name their lodging establishment in Park City. With only two days, we thought we came up with some decent names. Here was the client's response (the type-o's are his):
"In my opinion, all suggested names STINK. Try again. How do these names reflect everything that you queried us about at the last meeting? How about: "The warm, fuzzy, great servi\ce Park City ski and summer resort hotel".? or TWFGSPCSASRH?
- Client's Name
P. S. You experts can do better than the names that you have suggested."
There you have it folks. So the next time you head east on I-80 and drive through Park City, keep an eye out for The Warm, Fuzzy, Great Servi/ce Park City Ski and Summer Resort Hotel. They're very professional and I hear the service is excellent.
"In my opinion, all suggested names STINK. Try again. How do these names reflect everything that you queried us about at the last meeting? How about: "The warm, fuzzy, great servi\ce Park City ski and summer resort hotel".? or TWFGSPCSASRH?
- Client's Name
P. S. You experts can do better than the names that you have suggested."
There you have it folks. So the next time you head east on I-80 and drive through Park City, keep an eye out for The Warm, Fuzzy, Great Servi/ce Park City Ski and Summer Resort Hotel. They're very professional and I hear the service is excellent.
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