1 year ago today the quality of the Internet diminished just a tad

Dude,

Happy anniversary.

Thanks,
Other Dude

P.S. I totally had to back date this post, but I was thinking about it on the day.

Life Rule: When in doubt, stick with what you know

I've had this one come up a few times recently.

When in doubt, stick with what you know


It became worthy enough to write down when I discovered this indecent, which of course has a corresponding XKCD. Seemed appropriated since the other dude just got back from California. I can only hope your return trip will be better than theirs.

Just saw Google's touching Dear Sophie commercial

Dude,

I just saw Google's "Dear Sophie" commercial and maybe there was some kind of emotion evoked deep inside. Judging by the Youtube comments, the emotion evoked in me was very different from other viewers.

Everyone else apparently cried, but I couldn't help but be appalled at the blatant violation of the Gmail terms of service.

It's not really that the TOS was violated. Clearly this happens every day, but I am disappointed that the "do no evil" company would use a TOS violation as an add campaign. I honestly don't even know how to interpret it. It brings up the deeply philosophical question, "does a company that vows to do no evil, commit evil if it is against themselves?" I don't know the answer. All I do know is I can't look at that toothless grin without stirring some latent childhood nostalgia.

Maybe it has nothing to do with TOS. Maybe the anger stems from some jealousy that I'll never be able to relive my child hood memories simply by logging on to my Gmail account. All I do know, is it upsets me when a television commercial makes me cry my eyes out like a little girl.

Thanks,
Other Dude

The Ergophobia Continues... (go ahead, look it up, I dare you)

Dear Dude,

So I was sitting here thinking about how you're my dude, and I'm your dude, but we haven't shared anything in a while. For the eavesdroppers I'll recap (the following should be read with the announcer voice from
Idiocracy);

Last time on 2dudes1blog -- James was trying to code some javascript, but he didn't know anything about it. Michael, his ever faithful cousin and sometimes sidekick, loaned him a plethora of books on the subject in question. To date, James has only read a single chapter in one of the books. Now the not so climatic continuation of this anti-drama will unfold before your eyes.

Thanks for the books, I'll get to those when I get a chance.

The end,
Other dude

Not really. Here are some links in a random order of things I think everyone should see.

• A blog, arguably more interesting than ours.
• Yet another thing I invented after it's been around for years.
• Something cool I'm going to find a reason to use some day.
• This link could save your life.
• and this link could end it if you don't know how to swim without the use of heavy machinery.
• Also, I made two posts in the same day.

For real this time,
Other dude

Dude,

There aren't many video games that excite me these days. At least not without some nostalgic references to games I grew up on, but I have to share this one with you. I got Just Cause 2 as a freebie from something I bought and finally entered the code into Steam for the lols. There have been a number of games the only reason I'd ever play was because they were free, and almost every one only gets about 20 minutes of play time before I forget about it (looking at you STALKER with all the periods).

Just Cause 2 was entertaining enough to get me through the first few levels, skipping all the cut scenes because they are a little long and pointless. I was even able to overlook the cheesy main character's overly macho all black outfit. Once I got into the main game, I was impressed with it's open ended play style. I have no idea what the story is or what I am supposed to do, but just roaming around stealing cars and jets and just generally blowing things up and causing "chaos" has kept me up until 1am for the first time in a long time. I think it helped that I didn't take the game seriously when I started playing and had no expectations.

It's on Steam for $20, but there is a free demo. I recommend checking it out when you are in the mood for mindless entertainment of the explosive kind.

Thanks,
Dude

We did Something Right

A Google search for "tron trench coat" puts our blog post as the first result.

At first I thought it was Google working it's cookie magic on me, but I'm starting to think it's legit.

What little I've learned so far

Dear Other Half of 2 Dudes 1 Blog,

I am writing to inform you that I'm making a blog post.

More seriously, I am writing to save you time. Your time is valuable to me. Like gold; it mysteriously appreciates.

Based on a conversation we had earlier today, I thought I'd take the time to share with you what I have found to be a useful setup when making websites by hand.

FileZilla
When I first started, I did everything through our hosting service's WebFTP (for the nosy, yes we share a web hosting service). That was fine until I started working with PHP and many files. I had to step up my game. Also, don't be a fool like I was and just let it save your log on credentials. Save time, be happy, live longer.

Useful things I like about FileZilla
- synchronized browsing
- set files to open in notepad++ - go to Edit > Settings > File editing > Filetype associations paste something close to this (your setup might need minor changes--I have faith you can make it work):

php "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
html "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
txt "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
css "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"

Things I wish it could do
- useful file compare - you can compare by size or time, both of which will be slightly different between your local copy and server copy.
- Automatic upload of Changed files - When you open a file through FileZilla and save your changes in Notepad++, FileZilla is smart enough to say "Hey dude your file changed, do you want to upload the new version?" This is cool, until you are making a lot of minor changes to a file to see the differences. You'll have to hit save, alt-tab to FileZilla, click okay, alt-tab again to your browser, hit F5.

Notepad++
I know you already know the wonders of Notepad++, but for our eavesdroppers I'm going to include it in this letter.

One thing I do like about Notepad++ is it's ability to change the Language (of the code not to Russian). I've started the bad practice of using PHP files as style sheets, and it's nice to be able to tell Notepad++ I want to see it as a CSS instead of what it is.

Websites
http://htmledit.squarefree.com/ - I like to use this if I'm trying to make a site look right. I'll copy and paste the css inside some <style> tags, and paste the code at the bottom. Once I get what I want out of it, paste it back into Notepad++.

http://jsfiddle.net/ - Just discovered this one the other day. It's a lot like the first one, but lets you do more. You'll see.

http://www.w3schools.com/ - Almost every Google search result of "html + something I want to use" begins w3schools.com. I follow that link because they are most likely the have what I am looking for.

Browsers
They don't display the same (despite the plethora of standards available). I blame Lamecrosoft, but it doesn't matter. It is something that has to be dealt with even though we know who to point fingers at.

Curvy Corners - You may have noticed in my webdesign I'm a big fan of border-radius. Who's not? Really? Because if you're not you're wrong. This script allows border-radius to work on browsers that don't support CSS3.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://yoursite.com/where/you/stash/scripts/curvycorners.js"></script>

JQuery - While I'm on the scripts and making browsers work subject, let me include this one. I'm not smart enough yet to know all about it, but I know it's a good thing.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.4/jquery.min.js"></script>

F12 - While you are viewing your masterpiece through Chrome or IE (can't speak for others), hit this button to make magic happen. It will show you a number of things. So far I've found it most useful for tweaking margin and padding settings, but I am sure it can do more.

That just about covers what I've learned about setting up to make websites the hard way. Hopefully it gives you a little bit of a jump start, you will surpass me, and write me a letter that kindly explains how I'm doing it wrong. It will be great. We'll share the things we learn and be better for it. Might even help out some of these lazy eavesdroppers.

Thanks,
Other Half of 2 Dudes 1 Blog

Life Rules: Manage your tank

Manage your tank.


This life rule I came up with the other day while getting gas. It started out as "Fill up your tanks", but as I extrapolated the hidden meaning in the wisdom I made up at Bucee's, I realized this was too specific.

Image courtesy of a clever guy with a dollar.

When applied to your gas tank, yes, it should be filled. When you refer to your stomach, fill it for sure. But what about tanks that should be empty? Looking at you bladder! Then there are the tanks that have to be between certain levels like oil and coolant. Clearly this rule can apply to more than anatomy and automobiles, but at the gas station this is all I could think about.

Want me to bust out some economics that validate my rule (at least at the pump)? The gas you buy now, no matter what it cost, is cheaper today than at any point in the future because of inflation. Therefor, when you are at the tank fill it up all the way. No pansy $15 now and the rest on pay day.

Another Letter to my Buddy

I don't know what it is Micheal, but I haven't been able to psych myself up for the final dungeon of Zelda. I'm going to try this weekend.

I don't remember what song I shared with you in my last letter, but this is what I'm listening to right now. And I mean right now too. I've actually loved this song for a long time, just wanted to share. As much as I don't like music these days, Google Music and OCremix has inspired me to listen.

I originally came here to write a real post. Another rule of life actually. Then I started just writing and this is what came out. Let me go try again.

Sincerely,
James

Some things to share with Michael... but I guess both of our blog followers can see too

Dude,

So I've spent a ridiculous amount of time working on geekwagon.net. It has been my goal to code it 99% by hand. The only part I didn't do was the adsense script and the java that updates the date for the last update. Did that part make since? I'm on my 4th beer. I just spent my WHOLE evening making sure it works well at resolutions as low as 600x480. So if you just installed Windows 2000 and don't have any video drivers you can view my website without any problems (except IE5.5 will display all the borders with those nasty square corners... for now--I might have found a way to fix that but like I said I'm on my 4th beer.).

Picture courtesy of Google image
search and some random sucker.

I'm writing to tell you I've had this song going through my head for days.

Also, I finally broke even on bitcoins. Just in time too the price is dropping today like rappers drop hot items. To celebrate I've spent a bunch of time adding this page to geekwagon and I also added a bitcoin picture to this post. I hope it will be useful (the page not the picture) to some one some where in some world.

I still need to finish Zelda. I'll get to it.

Sincerely,
The other Dude 

My first impression of Office 365 (Microsoft's version of Google Docs for business)

After seeing the following video I had little choice but to go check out office365. While viewing the site a chat box popped up. A Microsoft representative wanted to take the time to talk to me personally. That conversation is posted below the video.

---

This chat can be recorded for quality & training purposes. Welcome to Microsoft. A representative will be with you shortly. Your estimated wait time is 0 minutes and 2 seconds. To help us serve you better, please provide your name and company name.
Hello, my name is Brady.


You: hello my name is James
Brady: Hi there!
You: I saw a video, don't know if you guys made it or not, but it was advertising office365. I went to check it out and I must say it is very missleading
You: we use google apps for $50/user/year less and there are no ads
Brady: Okay. I'll be happy to clear up any confusion if I can. What has prompted you to look into Office 365?
You: You: I saw a video, don't know if you guys made it or not, but it was advertising office365.
You: going over your features, the only thing I see that is interesting over Google Apps is the AD integration. But I'd have to pay more than double I am now.
You: is there any thing else you offer I'm not seeing yet?
Brady: I will be right with you.
You: I'll be right here
Brady: Okay. AD integration is included with any Office 365 Enterprise plan. Each plan includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online. Additional features are available in different plans.
Brady: Exchange Online will include 25GB of storage per user license, Forefront Online for anti-virus/spam protection, and ActiveSync for your mobile devices. SharePoint Online includes 10GB of storage, plus 500MB extra for each user license.
Brady: And Lync Online would provide you with instant messaging and web audio/video conferencing for up to 250 participants.
You: We are a company of 32 users (could go up to 35 in the near future). Currently we don't have a lot of office application needs, just a few users share spreadsheets.
You: which plan would you recommend?
Brady: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Brady: The most basic plan that includes AD integration is E1. This plan is $10/user/month, it includes Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync. It would also include 24/7 phone and email support and can easily be expanded for any size business.
Brady: If you find that you need additional features in the future, you can also easily change an Enterprise plan to a different Enterprise plan.
You: That would be $3840 a year ($2240 more than I'm paying now) for almost the same service. I don't think I could justify something like that. Not to mention the cost of migration (speaking of which I could only find migration documents to move from internal Microsoft services not another cloud service).
You: Combine with the misleading video I don't think I can justify making a change. But thanks for your time.
Brady: Thanks for chatting and have a great day!

---

First Impressions

Basically I've been lied to, not all their plans have AD integration. Only their Enterprise Plans do. I'm sure that's what he meant by his statement, but I was looking at all plans. Unfortunately, their small business plans only support 25 people. Funny how the government (and Microsoft in many cases) considers anything less than 500 employees small business. For all those businesses that fall in the 25-75 employee range, you get to pay out the nose like a giant enterprise.

I am intrigued by the over all idea. I mean, most businesses run Microsoft products already because they are familiar for users and simple for administrators (yes pricey but you don't have to retrain people--maybe one day I'll make a post about how I failed to convert a small company to OpenOffice.org because too many people don't get the concept of hierarchical structures and file types). I guess it would really come down to the business itself. None of the businesses I currently work with would benefit enough to justify the cost. My recommendation for simple could services stays with Google Apps.

Second Quest Goes Better than Expected

After I made my level 4 video I realized I never found the treasure in the dungeon. So I went back, and eventually found the book. Then after hours and hours of looking for level 5, I gave in and looked it up on the Internet because I just don't have the same kind of time I had as a kid.

To my surprise, I needed the raft. But I didn't have the raft. I had gotten treasure from all of the previous levels, where do I find a raft now? Well, that kind of first quest thinking should have been left in the cave with the old guy telling me it was dangerous to go alone. Back in level 4 I found a raft (In some rooms I overlooked). A raft and a book in the same dungeon... after the level with no boss... Ganon's not making this round easy on me.

Subsequently, while I was searching for level 5 I got to know where everything else was. I even spent some time in level 6 and found the ladder. After a lot of time, a lot of effort, and thousands of save states, I completed level 5 and 6. On the other hand level 7 and 8 were cake. If you call rooms, so full of blue darknuts and ball shooting statues that the game slows down, cake. Little known fact: Nintendo came up with bullet time way before the Matrix. They just called it "to many enemies on the screen....time".

I also realize, without the aid of save states, this would take a ridiculous amount of time. Not to mention the Nintendo Power-esque tip I nabbed off the Internet about where to find level 5. It's no wonder so few people never finish the second quest [citation needed]. I know I have found parts of it to be annoying and drawn out for the sake of difficulty and I am at a great advantage over old school NES play.

Now I have the triforce (again), and am poised at Ganon's front door. I haven't jumped into level 9 yet because I want to have the time to give what it deserves. I do plan to record this one. I'm sure it will be a horrible watch. I am genuinely curious about it because I have no idea what is in store for me. Will it even be a skull? I'll find out soon enough.

The Legend of Zelda 2nd quest - level 4

I had some back luck at recording level 2, so when I got to level 3 I didn't bother. By the time I found level 4 (no small feat mind you) I was ready to give it a try again. Not only was I successful, I went ahead and added annotations in a lame attempt to entertain.

The second quest is underway.

I discovered I can make videos with VirtualNES. Since I missed recording the end of the first quest I thought I'd make a video of dungeon 1 in the second quest so everyone can see how much I suck. I might make a video of dungeon 2 if I can find the darn thing. It's not where I left it. I won't bore you to death with my wandering through the overworld trying to find things. The painstaking things we do for a little nostalgia.

UPDATE: I did make a video of dungeon 2, but apparently it records using controller input instead of actually making a video and when I was re-recording with fraps there was one point that was slightly different than from when I played it. The result was Link dying in a spot he did not when I made the original. The second half of the video was the game over screen :(

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: I have also mastered the art of save/load states, so any future videos I will look amazingly lucky. Rest assured, dungeon 2 took many many many save/load states to accomplish.

It's on Ganon

Just picked up the last piece of the trifoce in the first quest. I'm coming Ganon, and then I'm going to come back in the second quest.

Also, how the heck did I end up with so many keys?

Something new to do

I've been a big fan of The Legend of Zelda since I played the first game back in 86. I was also one of the few fans of Zelda 2. Of course, like everyone else on the planet, I enjoyed Zelda 3 (that's the SNES one usually called A Link to the Past). There were some Zelda games after that, but really who cares (okay I did like Twilght Princes a little).

I realized the other day I have played through The Legend of Zelda at least a million times, but never have I played through the second quest. If you are unfamiliar with the second quest, it is a harder version of the same game you can play after you beat it the first time--or if you use Zelda as your name when starting a game.

I've started to prepare myself to play the second quest of The Legend of Zelda. First thing I did was find an emulator I like. After playing around with that for about 5 seconds I realized it just isn't the same without a controller. So I dropped a couple of bucks and picked up a NES controller USB adapter.

Before I undertake the second quest, I thought I'd run through the first one again as a refresher. I started the other day and, while it's no speed run, it's going much faster than I remembered. I've already collected five pieces of the triforce and purchased the blue ring. After all these years I still dread Dungeon 6. Man it's hard.

Life Rule: Headphones limit you

Survival trumps headphones.
(also you look stupid)

I see many young people these days roaming community college halls with trendy ear-buds sealed in place by their natural wax (do not use if freshness seal is broken). Yeah, they’re gross. More importantly, you only have five sen six an indeterminable amount of senses. Why limit, arguably your first, second, or third most important sense to listen to a singer (interpret that word loosely) whine about their life while you walk?

What makes matters worse, this headphone business is often combine with staring at a cell phone while walking. What are you doing, watching the seconds of the MP3 tick by?

Being aware of your surroundings involves all your senses (however many you may think you have). Next time you meander aimlessly through life, try taking out the ear-buds and listening to the roses. You’ll be surprised what you can pick up on when you pay attention.

We admit, we're fans

Both Michael and I are big fans of Portal. It seems only appropriate that we make our best guesses at the next big Internet meme that will spawn from Portal 2.
Personally I don't think any of them will be as big as; the cake is a lie, our love affair with the weighted companion cube, or GlaDOS's broken hearted end game serenade. None the less, there is some real potential here.
We both agree, Spaaaaace! is going to be big, and all derivatives there of. Such as, I'm in space!








Cave Johnson's lemon rant is a definite contender as serious meme.




His safety quote about "inventing a safety door that won't hit you in the butt on the way out because you're fired," is up there too. I couldn't find a youtube quote of it by itself.

Portal and I hear it has a squeal now

Image courtesy of freakin' hilarious video
used without permission. Feel free to contact me
Valve. I'll happily comply to all your demands.

The argument that video games are not art is a hot seat for debate. One I like to read up on regularly. Here is an article that recently confirmed my conviction video games will not be considered art anytime soon.

Warning: contradictory opinion incoming

Portal, on the other hand, I feel gets damn close. Yes it was created for Valves bottom line, but it started as a project from a group of students at a gaming school. Again there is the "for profit" argument, but it has morphed into a compelling story with deep characters. Or, as my creative writing teacher would argue, people not characters. For some reason we care about these people. Even the deranged computer trying to kill us. I feel, I tiny grain of sadness every time I tear her to pieces and throw every piece into a fire (but it's so fun).

The irony, to me anyway, is this is considered a FPS (if you forgot, that stands for first person shooter). An FPS with a phenomenal metascore and not a single gun you get to shoot. That's quite an achievement.

Also, I can't recommend this video enough. Freakin' hilarious (65% more bullet per bullet makes me laugh for days).

I think it's about time for another round of 'Around the Internet'! I like to think of it as a short and quick version of all that has been worth reading on the Internet in the past month.

First up; Rock, Paper, Scissors on crack (eat it Big Bang Theory and your 5 way game). As neat as it is, there are some combos that don't make since. Like computer beats blood, and scissors beat computer. Worth a look anyway. I have to give them credit for coming up with 101 gestures with out using the one everyone knows so well.

A tear down of the iPad2 is worth a quick look. It's all screen, battery, and surprisingly double back tape. Clearly not something intended for most do-it-yourself repairers.

Though I'm partial to funny video's (that's what the Internet is for right?), this next one is an interesting non-funny videos. It is taken shortly after the Chernobyl meltdown. It's sad, but kind of amazing too. Despite the fact I have to read to understand what is going on (subtitles are the bane of modern man), it's worth a watch.



Now, in a probably inappropriate turn, I'm going back to funny.

Photo courtesy of wanna be time traveler with luggage.

We are fortunate enough to live in a time where video games have flourished and allowed people to create diagrams like this one I found at Geekologie. It's a good time to trace your controller roots and be alive.

Courtney of Japan. 

On the video game subject, here are some things you might not have known about pac-man (yeah I knew some of these, but I also have a full pac-man arcade machine in my living room). If you've read this lengthy website about the intricacies of pac-man the Yahoo article is not that great (yet ended up on every major geek news site out there). I highly recommend Chapter 4: Meet the Ghosts.

Sticking to the video game topic, here is a video of the original Super Mario Brothers from first person perspective. I don't completely agree with it's dangerously narrow interpretation, but it's still well done and a fun watch.





To end this round up on the completely weird I'd like to introduce you to Star Trek girl. Resistance is futile.

Interesting and Worthy

Because we previously reported on the site with the goal to help Nathan buy Firefly, I feel somewhat obligated to point out the effort has officially been canned. Which was expected.

Picture courtesy of people with vision.

None the less, the linked article did turn me on to an equally interesting and more worthy cause called Can't Stop the Serenity. The worthy is easy to point out. They're goal is to spread the simple, yet seemingly un-graspable, idea of equality between human beings. Specifically by supporting a larger organization called Equality Now.

The interesting: they're using a fan base to do it. Why do we not see this more? I've said it before and I'll say it again; we're Americans and we need to be entertained (sad but true I know). As a rule, most of us don't take many interest in issues that don't effect us. That doesn't make them any less important, that's just the way it is. People are fans of things (I've seen facebook). To the people who control the intellectual property that is popular (like Joss Whedon), I say use that power for good--not just making gobs of money.

Am I walking the line between entertainment and spreading propaganda. Heck yeah! Some things are worth spreading. The entertaining part will come when Justin Bieber get's hordes of screaming fan girls to take action against Saudi Arabia over child marriage.

Man Principles

Photo Courtesy of the ingenious minds of Eric Kallman
and Craig Allen, and used without permission
per my feeble interpretation of fair use laws.

The Man Principles:Also Referred to as the Three P’s

I learned this from an interesting guy I used to work with. Really fit into many of the things I was thinking at the time. I’ve expanded and elaborated on his basic premise. The idea is, a man’s purpose in life can be summed up by the follow.

• Protect 

• Provide 

• Procreate 

The order matters as well. The reason I feel this is important is because it’s very apparent to me that many people have bought into the modern dogma that they have to go out and get an education and a good job. While these things are important, they all fall under provide and ignore the order.

The rules I post from time to time are general things I've learned in life. I've found many of them fit into the three categories here in some way.

Protect - This is the category where you get to be the crazy gun toting coot that prepares for the end of the world, but that’s the idea taken to one extreme. More realistically, it means eating right, staying active and fit. If you don’t take care of yourself you are unable to protect. If you are dead because of some illness, you fail at protect. Things like hygiene fall in this category. There is no use worrying about the second two principles if this one is not in place.

Provide - This is where most guys start. Even if you build an empire to provide for your family and loved ones...it’s pointless if you can’t stop others from taking it away by force. This is the category were education and money making activities (notice I didn’t say job) fall. This is also the category where things like manners fit in. How you treat others and act in society is directly related to how people treat you. Showing common courtesy goes a long way.

Procreate - If you take care of the first two, this one will take care of itself. If you have successfully protected and provided for, some woman will notice despite your looks (beauty is only skin deep remember? works both ways).

I have recently become more aware of sex and race issues that plague our world. Not that they haven't always been there, just now I am enlightened. It has brought into question the sexist nature of my man principles.

After careful consideration, I'm going with "not sexist." Just like feminist promote equality of women, the man rules promote equality of everyone. Real men are not sexist, but recognize the different biological roles we play. You will notice these principles say to treat everyone courteously. It's not about "macho" it's about living my an established set of morals. Like anything, it could easily be contorted into something it's not.

Tell them!

Ferd F-teenthousand

Mandatory Propaganda Post

We would not be doing our duty as responsible Internet users (abusers?) if we did not pass this website along to our (three) readers.

http://helpnathanbuyfirefly.com/

Picture courtesy of artist unaware of their ability
to make a spaceship look like a phallic symbol.

Life Rules: Wash Your Hands

Picture brought to you courtesy of employees
washing their hands in restaurants (we hope).

We haven't posted anything this month, so here is one for the rule collection.

Wash your hands.

Women are disgusted by the fact most men leave the bathroom before the toilet is done flushing. Women notice. These simple steps put you in the top one percentile when compared to other men by this statistic. I almost added “after urinating” to the end, but let’s keep it simple. To impress women, wash your hands. When in doubt, wash your hands. It's hard to go wrong with this one. It's not like other men will look down on you. It's win/win.

Oh yeah, I guess you can do it for hygiene too.

As far as man principles go (future post on this subject), this falls squarely under protect just like any other hygienic activity.

Around the Interwebs

The other dude and I were having an deep discussion about funny things* on the Internet. The discussion was vast and varied, and with it were gems to be shared. Whoa is the unfortunate who have missed these Internet treasures.

Best Star Trek: Nemesis synopsis ever (rated R for Ridiculously funny--and language)

This guy inspired me to change my life goals list to a life achievements list.

Conway's Game of Life - The hard to find official wiki, the informative wikipedia entry, and a place to learn with hands on experience. Take some time, it's more interesting than it looks at first glance.

Cool pic of the year, and why. True it has already hit a number of Internet hot spots (feel free to go tab crazy), but to really appreciate it you have to understand this moment only lasted a fraction of a second.

Image courtesy of someone who did look at the sun even though they were told not to their whole life.

*funny can also include interesting

A Blog Update

I added a "What We Are Playing" section on the side. Why not everyone else is doing it?

Just FYI to the other dude, you need to add the games you are currently playing.

GyroXtreme

James and I both had the privilege of attending the Real Pirates! exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science this weekend. The exhibit was full of interesting historical artifacts and pieces recovered from the Whydah Galley, a pirate ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717.

The museum has numerous other attractions, and I only felt it appropriate that the GyroXtreme be captured on video. The result is below.

Jeff Bridges' Tron Trench Coat

I'd like to start by stating a fact: no one saw Tron: Legacy without wondering how they can make their own Tron trench coat Jeff Bridges sported when he clicked on the bad ass switch.

Image courtesy of the Internet. No really why couldn't the whole of the Internet give me a better picture? Thanks Internet.

As the fact stated, I left the theater with my head full of light-up jacket lining dreams. Later, when I was killing time at work, I decided to look up how they heck they did that.

Being a nerd the first thing I thought of was some form of flat EL wire. After many different attempts I failed to find anything of merit.

I found a video with the costume designer. While an interesting watch, gave no clues to the fabrication of this particular vestment.

Low quality image courtesy
of an over priced VHS tape. 

I found a forum post with some sap asking where he can find the jacket Mr. Bridges wore in the first Tron. Really dude? I'll grant you that the posting was pre-Tron: Legacy, but it's not that cool.

After seeing so many others looking for the same answer, on the edge of giving up, I stumbled on light tape. They make a sample kit that would be perfect for would be Tron trench coat makers. The kit is a strip 2" wide and a foot long that runs off a 9 volt power pack the size of a trench coat pocket*. You might need two kits.

So get to it Internet. Make some Tron coats that light up from the inside. Make so many they go for cheap on ebay because there is no way I have the tailoring skill required to craft it.

*May fit in other coat pockets as well.

Life Rules: Collar Stays

This is a new segment and the first rule I just made up today:

Never buy a collared shirt without built in collar stays.

Yeah I had no idea what they were called either, but Google figured out what I meant by collar sti...

Image blatantly stolen from random online retailer
who sells rips off metal you put in your collar.

Usually, as enlightened individual, I try to see the argument from both sides. In this case I have made an exception. I don't care why these dreadful simple contraptions even exist. The plastic ones break in the washer. If I remember to take them out I forget to put them back in so I look goofy at work. I am certainly not spending money for the real ones. Seriously, look at those prices; for a strip-of-metal-you-put-in-your-collar. Why the freak do they make matching cuff links? You can't even see them! Is there some truth that eludes me? Is my socioeconomic status so unrefined I can't grasp a concept? Maybe, but I don't care. It's a new rule I just made up so that I don't have to waste brain power on the subject ever again.

The plan is, once I get a number of these rules I'll organize them in a hierarchal structure. I'm already seeing this one fall under \clothing\fashion (as opposed to \clothing\utility and \clothing\comfort...let's just say that is a whole different blog post).

CES 2011 - What Caught my Eye

The first thing I saw that was particularly interesting I caught on slashdot.org; a mobile PC gaming device. It's interesting because technology is getting to the point this is possible--at least as a prototype. My personal opinion is that it will be some time before this becomes viable if ever (you know because people play the latest high end games, and they take a beefier computer than a netbook).

What I find particularly interesting is the keyboard. I see potential uses that prove the netbook format is not dying. Check out the video with the extremely serious Asian guy to see what I mean.




My first concern about netbooks for gaming is the Atom processor is on the puny side. To quote one of the best slashdot comments I saw on this subject, "if they went dual core Atom that is just double [crappy]." (edited for the kids)

Maybe I'm not easy to impress, but so far this was the only thing that caught my eye.

Just to comment on Michael's impressions of Ford; I agree it's great to see a car company pushing the envelope. Ever since I found out Ford wasn't in need of a bail out I started paying attention to what they do. On the same note I was also interested to learn about their in dash tree growing game. They are using game design mechanics to make people want to drive more efficiently. The better you drive, the more your tree grows.

Full disclosure: I have been left on the side of the road by Ford, Chevy, and Dodge.

Credit to filmfuturist.com; I would have asked for permission but I couldn't find any real contact information. (really, get an email address because I'm not adding you to my facebook. I only have one facebook friend and that's the way it's staying!)

CES 2011

It's that time again. The Consumer Electronics Expo ushers in the new year with tons of tech related products for Joe Consumer. While the quantity far exceeds the quality every year, I'd like to share some of the products that I think will make the most impact in the future.

Microsoft Surface 2

The Microsoft Surface has always been an interesting product. Essentially, it's a huge iPad that was around before the iPad. Microsoft has geared the product towards business, not yet figuring out how it has a place in the home (coffee table?).

Ford

With the introduction of My Ford Touch at last year's CES by new-ish Ford CEO Alan Mulally, I have been listening whenever Ford makes an announcement. Ford has been pushing car tech the last few years, one of the only manufacturers to really do so. Sure, tons of companies have included iPod connectivity, but which companies have built an entire GUI inside the car?

This year, Ford is introducing the Ford Focus 2012, in both gasoline AND fully electric models. As far as American car companies go, I am glad to see one of them pushing the envelope.

Full disclosure: I drive an Explorer.

So, what piece of tech are you most excited for?

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.