Today's Mighty Oak – Page 121 – Blog and portfolio

Grammatically incorrect expression of agreement.

Mike Yesterday's nut April 26, 2010

Quick update for everyone:

Are you on Facebook? Of course you are, so why don’t you go and become a friend of Episcopal Priest Barbie! I know, it’s pretty awesome.

This video is pretty cool, would be a neat application for cubicle dwellers, if the feeds could be set to be live from and outside location:

In religion news, I like Wheat Thins, I think they are far superior than Triscuits, but I will stand in solidarity with Triscuit, being as that is one of the names of my car. Have no idea what I’m talking about? Neither do I, here’s the quote that started it all:

“Darwinist faggots who are as despicable as the rest, walking around eating your Triscuits.”

But Gawker caught up with the spokesperson for Triscuit:

Basil Maglaris, a spokesperson for Kraft Foods, the company that makes Triscuits, was nevertheless also stumped when asked why Islamic extremists might target his innocuous and nutritious charges. “I don’t think we have any comment on that,” he said. “Triscuits are a very popular cracker. We have a broad variety of people who love them these days.”

Except Islamic extremists?

“(Pause.) Everyone loves Triscuits, and we hope that everyone enjoys them.” We consider this to be a coded call for unity and peace. The religious and the secular alike must enjoy the crackers of their choice, free from the tyranny of snack censorship.

And in other religion news, a giant protest was held in Lebanon to demand the separation of Church and State. Pretty interesting read.

This is a pretty awesome trailer for Super Mario Galaxy 2 (the second half is just color bars, don’t bother watching for any new tidbits). The entire campaign is really fun, with awesome little sound bites here and there including “Good gravy!”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp1hdcw7HOM

Two more videos, then I’ll let you go, first off, Betty White is getting ready to host SNL, here’s the promo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzrBPscw–g

And finally, I’m an Independent. But I think I might change my affiliation to Bear Party (I seem to remember this from some time ago, but it’s good to be reminded of it)

“It is better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for someone you are not.”

Mike Yesterday's nut April 21, 2010

Couple more things for you today:

OkCupid! has a great article about staying in shape, beginning with their first suggestion, proper attitude:

Any physical improvement program is at least fifty percent mental. That’s why the undead and children under 2 are often so out-of-shape. Above all, you must have a positive self-image. Here’s mine:

Notice that my girlfriend is really hot, she never wears a bra, and I’m very, very close to the moon. In fact, my life will be perfect as soon as Devil-ra and her ghoulish minions taste cold steel. The power of a positive mental attitude knows no bounds.

However, it’s essential to be realistic about your expectations. Notice that every muscle in my mental picture is anatomically accurate and that the folds in the leather of my battle-boots are very true-to-life. If I actually were a barbarian, I would look exactly like this. You wish you were this honest with yourself.

I wish I could be that close to the moon!

The New York Times takes a look at online coupons. I was actually thinking about coupons this morning in the shower (I don’t know how I did that either), but I would think that retailers would be moving to coupons via app, like on iPhones, Androids and the like. It would save paper, and I’m sure cash registers can track data without the paper back up of printable coupons. With the new square barcodes, they could hold such an insane amount of information, I think the only probably we’d be looking at is if scanners could read them off the screens. Anyway, the article looks at information contained in barcodes that have been printed at home.

Here’s yet another article about the iPad and its restrictions, the reason I won’t be getting one. And as I’ve said before, they aren’t the only company to do this, just the biggest at the moment, which is why I’m looking at a Droid for the next phone I get (well that and some other reasons):

Apple is still insisting on locking the device down as though it were an iPhone: No third-party apps can run on it unless they’re approved by Apple. Apple wants to play gatekeeper so it can establish itself as toll-taker

That’s it for now, have a great one!

I am Dyslexia of Borg. Your ass will be laminated

Mike Yesterday's nut April 20, 2010

Couple quick things I’m finally getting around to posting.

Do you want to wear a kilt, but need pockets? Try a Utilikilt! May I suggest the survival one, which features detachable pockets that can be worn as a utility belt.

And I haven’t been backpacking in a while, apparently things have changed, a bit:

Thanks to my buddy Tom for both of these!

Net Neutrality

Mike The Great and Secret Show April 19, 2010

Over at Warhol’s Phone I got to talking about Net Neutrality, something I’m trying to learn more about. Slate once again has covered it, saying the recent ruling in appeals court isn’t as disasterous to Net Neutrality a we think, it will just take a little bit of backtracking to get moving forward again.

Here’s a few quotes:

Unfortunately, by 2006, it was obvious that things had gone horribly wrong. Instead of more competition in broadband, every year brought less.

Even if the Bush FCC was wrong about the glory of competition, was it perhaps right to cripple the FCC? Might we be better off with a disabled agency, one limited, effectively, to licensing radio and TV stations? The idea may sound appealing, like kicking over your brother’s sand castle, but you pretty quickly begin to see the problems. The truth is, we actually do rely on broadband as our common carrier, much as our ancestors relied on trains and the way we still rely on taxis and innkeepers. The problems and likely abuses in a system everyone depends on haven’t really changed, and why should they? Technology changes, but human nature doesn’t. Then as now, carriers have the means and reason to discriminate, charge exorbitant prices, and confuse customers with weird bills.

Infographics

Mike The Great and Secret Show April 18, 2010

I love infographics, as showcased in my post here. Even bought a book about them, which I’m sure I’ll talk about at some point. But here’s a fun take on them, via The Daily Dish:

“I’m not lost, im geographically embarrassed”

Mike Yesterday's nut April 17, 2010

Hello everybody! Shorter update today I think, but let’s see what I can find for you.

For anyone who has seen The Onion movie, this next sentence will make sense. Cockpuncher is being sued for keeping sex slaves! In related news, Steven Segal is being sued for having sex slaves.

I’ve always wondered how many people have lived on Earth, in total, since you know, we started. Someone finally figured it out! Over 106 Billion. That’s a lot!

A fun clip from the Daily Show, my favorite part, “It turns out the people in the White house are not secret Muslims, they’re nerds!”

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

A Farewell to Arms

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

My dad sent me this link to an awesome article about a dog who is a Verger! Check it out.

A typographer take aim at the iPad here.

Inspired by a case in Florida in 2007 (I think), Obama extended the right to same-sex couples to be at the side of their partner in hospitals. This also extends the benefit to friends, such as in cases where there is no family left. Very classy, but a shame it took this long for it to happen.

And one more Daily Show clip, this one is pretty good, I love the yelling:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Open Carrier Discrimination

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

I posted the Spiderman version a little bit ago, now, what if Wes Anderson directed the Lord of the Rings? Spiderman seemed more like The Royal Tennenbaums, this one seems more like The Darjeeling Limited:

This is probably the best thought out computer virus I’ve ever heard of. It steals your temporary files and web browsing history (presumably also including passwords to things like banking sites and e-mail) and publishes them online, charging you about $20 to remove them. Awesome. Now I’m just waiting for karma to strike me.

Listen, this next video is strange, and probably crosses the line. Why am I posting it? Because it’s an interesting take on TV ads, as well as a neat execution. It’s from a campaign in The Netherlands to promote South Park. That really should tell you all you need to know. The first scene is the worst, but the fact that they get in killing Kenny should be commended. Anyway, you’ve been warned, you probably shouldn’t watch it:

And that’s it for now, have a great one everybody!

Second Thoughts – Google Fiber

Mike Warhol's Phone April 14, 2010

A quick follow up to the Google Fiber post. While I was writing that up, I was listening to the latest episode of Slate’s political gabfest, and one of the hosts mentioned that her kids were excited about the project, not so much for their own city, but just in general. So I’m going to take this as more proof that the cancellation was another April Fool’s Day joke.

The discussion came up by discussing the recent decision on net neutrality.

Filed under: Law, Second Thoughts Tagged: Google Fiber, Net Neutrality

Rights

Mike The Great and Secret Show April 11, 2010

Forgetting that it is tied to a specific book (with a ridiculously long URL), it’s a fantastic quote about rights:

You don’t win friends with salad.

Mike Yesterday's nut

Back for more, thanks for reading!

Need a handy reference chart when discussing Sci-Fi? Check this out.

Or maybe you’d rather take some time to get your finances in order, Lifehacker has you covered!

I posted the first one before, but here is the fully sick rapper again:

Synaesthesia is really weird, especially in how many different forms it takes, and I’m pretty sure I fit into at least one, and possibly two categories. I don’t watch Dr. Who, so I’m not going to call myself a Time Lord, but how cool would that look on business cards!

Here’s an interesting article about the current state of the GOP. I’m always excited when Buckley is discussed, since I actually know a little about him (and his son, one of my favorite authors).

Do you love Dr. Horrible’ Sing Along Blog? Of course you do! Do you miss 8-bit video games? Of course you do? Check it out:

Would you like to make prank calls…as Tiger Woods? Again, of course you would! Slate has your soundboard here.

This is making its way around the internet, guerrilla bridge building:

Astoria Scum River Bridge from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.

Andrew Sullivan has been talking about a giant statue of Mary, and here’s a follow up post about the area around the statue. The image reminds me of a combination of Er’Cana (from URU) and the beginning area of Myst V. I know, I’m a huge nerd. This shot also reminds me of some of the areas in “The Great and Secret Show” and “Everville.” As much as I want to post it over here I won’t, since it only has to do with the book.

This is a cool graph, and I think shows one of the reasons I love podcasts so much, I can multitask with them. And I listen to free ones (well, all but one).

Are you upset by the Catholic Church? How about trying to get excommunicated? One Seattle writer tries it, I’ll keep you posted. The letter is gut-wrenching and heartfelt, here’s a snippet:

I demand to be excommunicated because I do not believe women are second-class citizens. I demand to be excommunicated because your missionaries are informing impoverished citizens of third-world countries that birth control is a sin when it is in fact the single most important thing they could do to gain some small amount of control over their economic situation and health. I demand to be excommunicated because your church has become a hate group as virulent as any this world has ever seen, one that is unnaturally obsessed with the sex lives of good men and women across the planet. I demand to be excommunicated because I do not condone child rape or the concealment of child rape.

And my mind has been blown in like eighteen little pieces from trying to understand this link. I heard this elsewhere recently and I’m trying to remember where, but for the life of me I can’t. Maybe that’s because we’re exploding backwards from a white hole!

A guy has made a computer program called Jarvis, and integrated it into his apartment, as well as his GPS phone and his friends phones. It can tell when they are coming home and turn lights on, turn lights on and off for the dog and all kinds of other things. Here he is showing how it helps him out in the kitchen. Very much a bachelor, and I do think the paper towels so close to an outlet and the George Foreman grill may be a safety hazard:

Thank goodness Ginny commented on this picture, I had seen it that morning in the PG and screamed a little inside. Sometimes I love Harrisburg:

That’s it for now, have a great one!

Google Fiber

Mike Warhol's Phone

This will be broken up into a few different thoughts.

First, Google Fiber is the project to bring super high-speed broadband access to one test city. Cities competed and applications were due April 1. Semi-famously, Topeka changed its name for a month to Google. Google then changed their name for an April fool’s joke.

Mayor Luke gathered people together on Forbes Ave. to spell out the word Google and then, presumably using the city’s wireless network, pressed send on the application.

The Post-Gazette covered it here, and some of the quotes were quite amusing, including some bewildered passerbys thinking it was a protest of some sort. Also, the number of non-Pittsburgh residents who helped out was really nice to read about.

So do we have a good shot? I think so. Google has offices here, at CMU, although they’ll be moving to Bakery Square, if they haven’t already, and Pittsburgh certainly has emerged as a powerhouse in technology, specifically medical and robotic advances.

The web-site for the project here in Pittsburgh is well done, and is branded with “Ready, willing & able,” a fitting slogan. The parking chair is a fitting image, especially with all we heard about them during snOMG.

And then things got a little crazy. Later in the day on April 1, Google announced that the entire thing was a hoax. They did it by releasing this press release. I got the link sent to me while I was at work. I didn’t have much time to read it closely, but it was fishy.

To have basically the entire first paragraph made up of unattributed quotes was not only bad form, but really unheard of in PR writing, not to mention the strange use of ellipses. The second paragraph was one sentence, and that might not be too strange, it was once again an unattributed quote. The boilerplate came after the ending hashmarks, which might be a preference, but again, struck me as odd.

So I called shenanigans.

Was it a ploy to weed out the competition, make sure only the serious applied? Possibly.

The Google Fiber web page is still up, and now into the next phase, choosing a winning city. Pittsburgh is represented well on the map, so we’ll see in the next four months or so what will come of it.

Mayor Luke said as we hear more, we’ll probably be doing more to further attract Google to the Steel City, here’s hoping!

Filed under: Industry, Interactive, PR Tagged: Google, Google Fiber, Pittsburgh