Next year I wanna see Ask Grandpop on that list. Got it ;)
A Snapshot of Facebook in 2010 | Facebook
Next year I wanna see Ask Grandpop on that list. Got it ;)
Eek! Aliens in the Laundry!
I bought Chloe a bucket of these little guys and they’ve been doing deep recon around the house for the past week. These two are fresh from the washing machine. I am sure they are the first of many.
The FCC Wants to Regulate the Internet
Net neutrality. Yes, again. Look, I read an article that claim in a poll only %21 of people are pro net neutrality. Why? Because it was framed similarly to the sensational headline on this post. Your gonna hear net neutrality twisted as “The FCC wants to regulate the internet just like it does TV and radio". This is incorrect. The FCC wants to regulate ISPs (Internet Service Providers) such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon to ensure all data and devices are considered equal.
Just… ya know. Heads up.
Still Don't Think We Need to Reform IP Laws?
One of the favorite toys of the season was the Paper Jamz guitar and amp. Sadly, Gibson didn’t think it was so great and sued the manufacturer, WowWee, for infringing on their image. See, the Paper Jamz may be made of paper, but they kind of look like the Gibson, so the guitar company sued them for trademark infringement, suggesting that WowWee claimed that the guitars “looked like” Gibsons. While this is untrue, Target and a number of other stores have pulled the toys.
Quirky Digits Makes Any Gloves Touchscreen-Friendly
Anyone that’s ever done the remove-a-glove-to-use-a-phone dance should appreciate the Quirky Digits. It’s simple, really. These little pins transfer your body’s magically power to use a touchscreen through your gloves to little conductive pads on the other side. $13.99 nets buyers a 4-pack for either totally equipping one set of gloves for multitouch goodness or spreading the love over four pairs.
Recap the beginning of the WWWWI
Whether or not you are picking a side or sitting it out, EVERYONE needs to know what is going on with the ‘Net right now. Seriously. The fight over who (or no one) controls the future of global communications has started. Wired has an… acceptable recap of this here.
Knowing is half the battle. Welcome to the future. William Gibson was right.
Ed. I'm gonna pull a couple of quotes because you won't click thru:
“A lot of really important stuff happened this year that forces us to begin to think about that there are so many people who depend on private companies to enjoy the fruits of technology,” said Cindy Cohn, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s legal director. “If the private company stands up for us we have rights, and if it doesn’t, we don’t.”
...
F U Sony Playstation 3
Day after Xmas. I’ve got a shiny new PS3 game and BOTH the baby and Mrs. are down for a nap. I tear off the shrink wrap and stuff it into the console. Tossing aside the stacks of children’s Christmas DVDs, I plunk down with a grin and a controller.
The game needs to download a patch for 30 minutes.
It cannot download in the background so I could play a different game or use the media center.
Didn’t even see a title screen. Guess it still has to install to the hard drive too.
I guess it’s a Christmas miracle the damn thing didn’t need to spend 20 minutes updating its firmware this time… yay…
Don’t Understand Net Neutrality? Here’s a pic!
This is what happens without Net Neutrality. This slide is from the fine folks at Allot Communications re: their new “Openet” mobile data use. Net Neutrality says this is a “no-no” and all data must be treated the same.
Christmas Light Display as Video Game
I recognized this driveway as soon as I started the video Yep, it’s the guy who put Guitar Hero in his Christmas display last year. This year he has an all new game!
Picking on iPhone 4 is like spitting on roadkill
Why?
That's one of the first jokes of the episode. Why do it anymore? After "It only drops calls when you hold it," where can you go? I guess you could mention the fact that it shatters if you take in and out of the case too much. See? Its like the XBox 360. No jokes. Everyone knows the facts. No one ever talks recall. People know what they're getting into.
Economy can't be that bad...
JoCo for the Hollidays
The whole damn ‘Net’s gone to hell lately: Illegal domain seizures, cyber gangs, proliferation of DDoS weapons, leaks, hacks, theft. The Wikileaks story climaxing with the arrest of Operation Payback coordinator was so amazing I felt I didn’t have the time to do it justice here (that's why I have the newsfeed). BTW, if you haven’t changed your passwords for everything, you really need to go do that now. Go ahead. I’ll be here
Anyway, I need a little pick-me-up. Let’s check in with Jonathan Coulton, a true friend of The Internet, and the inhabitants of Chiron Beta Prime:
China deploys knockoff Gundam statue
China has overtaken Japan as the number two economy, but that hasn't stopped the country's bootleg masters from erecting their own version of the famed giant Gundam robot statue.
"Cami is off with her mom tonight. Ya know why? $8 in overnight shipping is why! Stupid Murphy’s Law thing. Won’t be the last we’ll see of her this weekend, I’m sure. If nothing else, we drive her back to the meeting spot with Dad. Yeah. We were always on the docket for baby taxi Still, Grandpop beats the hell out of Step-Father. You’ve go NO chance as a Step-Parent. Grandparent automatically gets reverence. Quite heavy holding up 3 generations tho… Long way to go, but I’m starting to see a bit of progress.
New Phonebook
Seems I have a lot to blog this morning… Anyway, just got a phonebook dropped off. Not even The Phonebook; One of those oddball phonebooks. Such a waste. I think there is an opt-out for this somewhere. Ah, well. At least the phonebook gave me an excuse to stop cleaning and sit down to tap this out
Otaku-Verse Zero
These guys just started their podcast. Its very refreshing to see a professionally made video podcast that isn’t about tech. I posted this episode because I thought Brandon would like to see the weapon shop in Japan.
I’m such a nerd
Edit: Amazon got my back! Pink Leapster2 and Spongebob overnighted for $60. Yeah, I know: Christmas. If things go pear shaped (par for the course), I wanna have an ace up my sleeve ;)
Pfft! Babies walking around without LCDs. Might just as well let 'em draw on the wall with feces!
XMas is here!
Its been so long since we’ve had to deal with Sarah, I forgot to expect the BS. Cami (Baby 1) is inbound for a couple of days with Mom coincidentally checked into the hospital. My first reaction is “Keep bailing her out and she’ll keep doing the same thing”. My second reaction is “Oh, I kinda get it now.”
Okay, actually my first reaction involves swears that would make George Carlin spin in his grave
Sony Suggests Best PS3 Gifts
Let’s define Epic Fail for a second. This is from Sony’s PS3 newsletter:
“Designed to maximize your overall entertainment experience, finding a new Bluetooth Headset, a Surround Sound System, or a “Candy Pink” DualShock 3 wireless controller under the tree is sure to make anyone’s holiday a little brighter this year – at prices starting as low as $49.99(MSRP).”
Really? THIS is what Sony suggests? A headset, a sound bar, and a PINK controller?!
“Whatcha doin?”
“Fraggin’ N00bs with my new pink DualShock! How about you?”
“Chatting on my new $50 bluetooth headset! Sound sucks. Gonna switch it with my cell phone’s headset that cost half as much.”
“Wish I got a game.”
“No, you don’t. Sony suggests ‘any of our newest titles, such as Gran Turismo 5, The Sly Cooper Collection, or SingStar Dance’”
“ZZZZZzzzzzz…”
2015: VGA goes Away
AMD, Dell, Intel Corporation, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics LCD Business and LG Display today announced intentions to accelerate adoption of scalable and lower power digital interfaces such as DisplayPort and High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI) into the PC. Intel and AMD expect that analog display outputs such as Video Graphics Array (VGA) and the low voltage differential signaling technology (LVDS) panel interface would no longer be supported in their product lines by 2015.
I still use a tube monitor. I can’t stand looking at the dot matrix on those LCDs; knowing that they won’t scale correctly; seeing all those squares. Ugh.
No more analog display, in 2015 VGA goes away. ‘No,’ I say! ‘Yes,’ say they. A sad day, when VGA goes away.
Maneuvers and Movement
There’s a punny poop joke in there! Nice to see we’re back on track around here!
There’s been a lot of military movement around here since December started. Lots of Black Helicopters and fighter jets. Saw a whole wing of fighters in formation flying overhead last weekend. Just this morning I saw a black helicopter with a flight of birds tagging along behind it. Would have been cute if I didn’t know those birds were racked out with WiFi snooping devices sponsored by Disney.
Gotta get all the Disney hate out of my system. Once Comcast and NBC merge we’re gonna have a whole new Evil Overlord (and you won’t be getting Netflix anymore).
Cargo! PC game announced
Yeah, I’m gonna bother to write about a game you’ll never hear about again. Why? Because you should see The Void! I’m getting a head of myself here.
PC Gamer has info on Cargo!, the new game from Ice-Pick Lodge and it will probably never see retail in the US. Ice-Pick Lodge first made a game called Pathologic. I’ll review that now:
Gah? Hmm… okay. Okay so this is about- Ow. ow. ow. Ow. OW. Stop it. Ow. STOP IT! F*@k this game! The translation was kinda shaky too.
Then they made The Void. The Color is gone and you have seed some of your own Color then nurture it to grow. Havest the color and feed it to The Sisters to open the way. Not too much! If you run out of color, you die! You also have to fulfill the wishes of The Brothers lest they know you work against them.
Brothers:
Sisters:
Oh, and it seems that feeding the Sisters Color will open the way for they destroyer. or savior. or prior destroyer, now savior? And if you do anything wrong you have to start over because there won’t be enough time or Color to continue. Awesome game! Don’t play it!
So here’s their new game Cargo!
“A short-haired woman in orange overalls and suspenders, meets a god who looks like a giant floating tiki statue. He explains how boredom has prompted him and the others to turn off gravity. Most of Earth’s inhabitants and landmarks have hurtled off into space, and you’re one of the last remaining humans.
In humanity’s place are creatures called Brats. They look like elderly babies, bald and squat, but when you entertain them an element called ‘Fun’ is generated. It’s how you buy back objects from the sky.”
This one I get! I’m not the only one who got a baby dropped on his doorstep it seems. Sing, dance, throw crap around to make the Brats generate Fun so you can get you stuff back out of the garage… er, sky. I’m so in!
Scatological Medicine
Hmm… Spellchecker didn’t find anything wrong with that? Okay, whatever…
Surprise fatherhood has taught me many interesting lessons. For example, I can gauge %70 of the baby’s health from the poop. The Mrs. and I discuss baby poop in great detail. Size, color, consistency, frequency. Bam! Check up in a bag!
Fecal samples should be a standard part of any medical checkup. Might make the bills a little easier to swallow knowing that someone had to paw through a handful of your crap. Eat a lot of eggs and tuna before hand for an extra giggle!
IP Violator Witchhunt Continues
It turns out the United States wrote Spain’s anti-piracy law. This was suspected all along.
Joe Lieberman is looking to shut down Wikileaks due to the fact that they have infringed on copyrighted material from the US Government.
After winning the Youtube copyright case, Google has launched a new system to make it easier to submit DMCA takedown request.
Next time on IP Witchhunt: NBC merges with Comcast. Netflix traffic is throttled then capped. Legislators (or those who pay for them) still want neither Net Neutrality nor revisions to the DMCA.
Its turning into a police state out there. In a decade, the Internet will be as useful at getting you content from “everyman” as your cable box is.
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Elizabeth and Chloe are off to a children's Hanukkah concert this afternoon.
In a vaguely related topic, I could not be more pleased with the Jewish day care thing. I've been %112 satisfied with their service. The activities and the reports we're given are all beyond what I expected from any day care. Especially after seeing some :(
Hello Dolly! Again! and again and again and again!
Dolly the cloned sheep is not dead! Well, she is, but there are more! Have been for a while. Its just that no one thought to mention it. Phft! People wonder why we need WikiLeaks.
Dolly was the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell. She was born in 1996 to three moms and no dad, and after she died in 2003 she was stuffed and put on display in a museum in Scotland. But now, she's back. Four of her.
Four genetic duplicates of Dolly are alive and well in Scotland, after having been cloned from some of the original tissue samples that had been sitting in a freezer for ten years. They were born in 2007, and have been living as pets at Nottingham University ever since, but nobody really knew about them until the professor in charge happened to mention their existence at a recent lecture. Surprise!
It took 277 tries to clone Dolly the first time, but it only took five tries to clone each one of these new Dollies. And while the original Dolly only lived to age six (about half the average age of her species), Dollies two through five aren't exhibiting any of the health problems that Dolly one had.
Peeking at a persnickety preschooler
from Elizabeth:
Hello,
Chloe was very cheerful when she got up at 6:15. She ate breakfast after kissing the Christmas tree. She blew it kisses all through breakfast. She was wheezing alot so I gave her a breathing treatment which helped. She seemed better after the treatment. She even helped me give her the treatment and did not even need a video to do it. Then she went and kissed her green dreidel.
She is wearing her new blue jean jacket she got from Diane today.
Miss Jessica says she has been getting winded and fatigued at school - so she probably needs to have the treatments more regularly.
Also I gave her tylenol this morning for teething.
Amazon ceases WikiLeaks hosting – Tech Products & Geek News | Geek.com
This morning Amazon informed my staff that it has ceased to host the Wikileaks website. I wish that Amazon had taken this action earlier based on Wikileaks’ previous publication of classified material. The company’s decision to cut off Wikileaks now is the right decision and should set the standard for other companies Wikileaks is using to distribute its illegally seized material. I call on any other company or organization that is hosting Wikileaks to immediately terminate its relationship with them."
One for the Mrs.
Two of the things Elizabeth loves are Vin Diesel and Dungeon & Dragons. Mashup time!
He’s such a nerd
April 11, 1954: The most boring day in the 20th century
“The irony is though, that having done the calculation, the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring.”"
AT3NSHUN DEER S@NTA
I haz been very very g00d th1s year an even wor lil hats!!1
I Wud like to git a P0ny and iPad!
BIG KISSES
PiR8 Kw33n KL0E
World War II era British robot
Meet George, a working World War II era British robot | Geek.com: "It’s just like a real-life Boiler-Plate, except from the Cold War instead of the Victorian-era: in 1950, former Royal Air Force officer Tony Sale ripped apart the scraps of a crashed World War II bomber and built it into a 6 foot tall robot…. and forty five years later, he’s still tinkering with it."
Next Lego Star Wars Anounced
Do Not Buy: Ocedar scrubbing roll-away mop

I miss that broken floor scrubbing machine.
Now Intel Has an App Store
Yep, Intel now doing what everyone else is. Some free, some paid. Did I mention some are free? Here’s da linky: http://www.appup.com/applications/index
Lego Zombie Apocalypse — Bricks and Brains
Image by Andrew Becraft via Flickr
According to The Brothers Brick at least 35 participants contributed nearly 30 original buildings, dozens of vehicles, and hundreds of minifig zombies and survivors to make this awesome Zombie Apocalypse at BrickCon 2008. There are some great ideas in this diorama and the one from 2009 for anyone looking to spruce up a Halloween project or creep out a Christmas one.
Check out Andrew Becraft’s Flickr stream of Zombie Apocafest 2008 and Zombie Apocafest 2009. Sadly I could not find one for 2010 but I did find the The Lego Zombie Apocalypse Flickr Group for more undead brick zombies goodness.
"Today's Rock Band Ripoff
The thrill IS gone. They don't work.
Turns out Harmonix has gone back on their promise. All new Rock Band DLC is NOT compatible with ANY older Rock Band game. RB3 or die. Anyone got $4 I can borrow before the Mrs. finds out?
Also, in case anyone didn't know, Lego Rock Band song export ($10) does not seem to work in RB3.
Trifecta … Of Death!
Only one actor has been killed by Aliens, Predator, and Terminator.
Bill Paxton. Killed in The Terminator, Aliens, and Predator 2.
Ask Grandpop - I Don't Want To Sleep
**episode 8 of 6**
When B.G. doesn't want to go to sleep, Grandpop spells it all out.
Catching Up
BG received a clean bill of health (kinda) and is back in school for 1/2 day today. She is still on breathing treatments. Just in time for Thanksgiving vacation next week. Today is blue day.
Lemme take care of some old paperwork:
Calling BS on Diane’s ‘All dr.s must have iPhone’. Seen A LOT of drs since hearing that. No two dr.s are using the same gear and ZERO of them used an iPhone. Acer netbooks, tablet Thinkpad, Palm TX, never one iPhone.
Liz is working Thanksgiving, so… yeah.
Domestic Goddess award to LU. Liquid fabric softener fixed laundry funk immediately.
Ask Grandpop is the best animated short series you will EVER see. Hit my YouTube channel via the sidebar (My YouTube). Share with everyone
Its hard to teach women honor because they cannot be kicked in the balls.
I got work to do. Later.
Ask Grandpop - Recycling
**episode 6 of 6**
When B.G. can't think of a topic, Grandpop call it quits.
The Return of Baby Pocky
BG once again has an “impressive rash”. Dr. has been called. We’ll see. She’s doing a lot better in terms of the cold. Just ignore the fact that she’s red and we’re all set to go. Those midnight medicine doses suck for everyone.
Ask Grandpop - I Want An iPhone
**episode 5 of 6**
When B.G. wants an iPhone, its up to Grandpop to explain how Apple ruins peoples lives.
This was originally Episode 3. Coming right off of the wacky Where Babies Come From, this was the “important” one. This was also the topic the wife requested (oddly enough, shortly after I already started on this). For a while, I figured this would be the template for all other episodes. It’s a lot like Charlie Brown, except that one had an obscure topic (IP Copyrights) in a bizarre metaphor (Grandma’'s Apple Pie). This one is pretty clear.
World’s Oldest Torrent Could Use Help
According to TorrentFreak, the oldest torrent on the ‘net is an ascii re-encode of The Matrix from 2003. Currently there are 6 seeders. Here’s a magnet link if you have BitTorrent and and want to help. Also here.
Baby Update
Still Here
Everyone has been sick. Again. We all went to Dr. and are on antibiotics. Again. If you’ve been missing me here, LU and I have been playing Flame War in the latest Foxconn story. We both started out rusty, but it came together Hope you all hate the new cartoon (inside joke you’d get if I had the time to write up my production notes this week).
Ask Grandpop - Behind The Beard
**episode 4 of 6**
Go Behind the Beard on Ask Grandpop.
Foxconn Update
Here’s a great bunch of shots from around Foxconn Shenzhen plant. Obviously this was done with permission and under supervision. There is a factual error I would like to point out: There has, in fact, been a suicide since the nets went up.
Ask Grandpop–Where Babies Come From
**episode 3 of 6**
When B.G. wants to know where babies come from, its up to Grandpop to explain The Birds, The Bees, and The Peanut Butterfly Effect.
This was the big one. Technically the second episode. After struggling thru 2 rewrites of the Charlie Brown download, this is where it all came together. I knew I had… something, but this was the first time I could truly SEE what I had. This was also where the Mrs. came around. There were some problems getting the… stranger jokes to work, but YouTube came to the rescue with the 1st episode of Burns&Allen. For the first several minutes of this show, George Burns does a bit on how to be a Straight Man. It saved the Peanut Butterfly Effect and brought Storks back from the cutting room floor.
Whatever you do, odds are someone has done it before. And better.
After this episode, I decided to create the into/outro. I felt it deserved it. I then reworked Charlie Brown AGAIN and thought about doing an ongoing series.
I’ll blab some more on Thursday’s release of Ask Grandpop – Behind the Beard
Halloween Spirits
Here is Star Treks’s Q reading The Raven:
and here is a giant pumpkin being dropped on a car
Ask Grandpop Series Premier
Welcome to the unveiling of my latest project Ask Grandpop. I have uploaded 2 episodes for you tonight. Thanks for the chance to share. The wife is a big fan Sorry Hon, not releasing in order after all
Ask Grandpop - Downloading Charlie Brown
**episode 1 of 6**
B.G. has missed 'Its The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' on TV. Maybe Grandpop can download it.
Ask Grandpop - Selling Out
**episode 2 of 6**
When Geico uses Xtra Normal for its new ad, B.G. Wants to cash in.
Ask Grandpop–Tech Test
html5 checked
New embedded player. very nice. Reading my tech notes? shoula used noteppad...
Try This At Home! right click on that vid and hit "Take Speed Test".
Wonder why Google has a monthly record of my YouTube speed? Seems a little... odd. I mean, it makes sense. I can see why they would, but thats a whole lot of resources to use. Um... maybe not 4 google :)
Glad they are sharing at least.
Anyway, looks like we're ready to roll. YouTube is fast(er) and easy since its overhaul. So, blah-blah, Ask Grandpop, blah. I wanted to do a bit more "role playing" on the blog, but it ended up in the show. Maybe I'll do some later.
Correction: You can still get a Walkman
Turns out Sony is only stopping production of the Walkman Cassette player in Japan. ?! Yes, there will still be new old Walkmans for the US. Go figure…
I did what now?
Um… Hold the phone. 1st off, yeah, brace for more Project Ask Grandpop crap. 2nd, it looks like I’ve only been doing this for a week. It REALLY feels like its been longer. A LOT LONGER. Okay, here’s the funny part:
I’ve produced 23 minutes of animated content in a week. Alone. An actual CG TV show. LOL This is has got to be how South Park is done these days. That’s why they can turn around such timely pieces.
I’ve looked at the PC version of Xtranormal (horribly named “State”. Try @#%#ing Googling that!). You COULD make South Park with that. I’d be on board with it but… its barely functional. Its their side project. The website “Text-to-Movie” has much newer tech than State. With the Geico commercial thing, I don’t see that priority changing any time soon. The site’s always been twitchy, but this weekend was brutal. Twitter says they’ve got a big boost in traffic. I actually lost a whole completed episode yesterday. It was a short one, but still about 4hrs. work.
How Cutting Edge is Ask Grandpop?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=7TL533eR9ns
These Song Don't Transfer to Rock Band 3
AC/DC - "Let There Be Rock"
Journey - "Any Way You Want It"
Metallica - "Battery"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Give It Away"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California" (RB1)
Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun" (RB1)
Soundgarden - "Spoonman"
Shame. Dani California was one of my favorite RB tracks. Also sucks to loose a Journey song on the version that adds keyboards :\
How US Marines Fix XBox 360
Awesome!
I was just writing a XBOX joke last night and wondering if it was a little out of fashion. I think this vid shows its still funny.
Blowing Up A Mac Book Air
Lessened Bloggery
Ask Grandpop: Downloading Charlie Brown
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, as well as a bonus PEANUTS cartoon, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, in which Linus runs for class president, will air THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Sony to Start Selling SD Cards
Secondly, Sony has their proprietary Memory Stick cards. Now, Sony hasn't said they're quitting production of Memory Stick, but it makes ya think.
Looking Back: Disney buying Marvel
Oh, my...
Gene Simmons Responds to DDOS Attack
Our legal team and the FBI have been on the case and we have found a few, shall we say "adventurous" young people, who feel they are above the law.
And, as stated in my MIPCOM speech, we will sue their pants off.
First, they will be punished.
Second, they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who's been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend.
We will soon be printing their names and pictures.
We will find you.
You cannot hide.
Stay tuned"
As Slyck notes, the ability to identify those who are participating in a distributed denial-of-service attack would be pretty challenging, if not impossible. But Simmons's threats and attitude (not to mention his lack of understanding of "hackers") echoes his misunderstanding that everyone who participates in peer-to-peer file-sharing is a criminal who needs to have their pants sued off or end up in jail.
Full Story
So this puts the fabled Kiss Army (Soldiers of Satan, mind you) on the side of RIAA, Hollywood, ACS Lyons, VP Joe Biden, and the British Parliament, right? Can you see Mandy and Gene throwing down pints at the pub giggling about the anal rape of a kid they sent to jail for downloading a crap MP3 version of Love Gun? Yeah, me too :(
Operation Payback Still Doing Something
...and no one is talking. They have squandered their "shock and awe" and are now yesterday's news.
“He Gave Us Order Out of Chaos” — R.I.P. BenoĆ®t Mandelbrot, 1924-2010
BenoƮt Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry and one of the most famous mathematicians of all time, has passed away about a month shy of his 86th birthday.
After the jump, enjoy an awesome video based on Jonathan Coulton’s awesome tribute to Mandelbrot and his most famous subject of study (which was not actually discovered by him, despite its name).
"
Look at These Minis!
Check out the full line of Jurassic Reich figures.
The 600 Years
The 600 Years from the macula on Vimeo.
Its The Great Torrent, Charlie Brown
Based on a True Story
Google Chrome
Should you switch? Not really. Firefox 4 will do all the new stuff and look a lot like Chrome. I'd use the beta of that more but it doesn't work well with my iGoogle.
Bronchitis (+bonus bloggery)
Maybe 1...
Liz told me about new device called "address book". Paper based device! Didn't need to loose family database every 5 years! Didn't believe. Checked Wiki to settle argument ;) Good Read! Liz wins.
Baby Report
Credit Where Credit is Long Overdue
Sick
BLAH !!!!1
Punny closing
Foxconn Update
A survey, conducted by more than 60 teachers and students from 20 different universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan found that at the company's Shenzhen, Kunshan, Taiyuan, Wuhan and Shanghai plants, workers were being abused and were the victims of other human rights violations. In some plants, the abused workers made more than 50% of the plants employees
Full Story: http://www.neowin.net/news/new-report-says-foxconn-employees-abused
Today
Not so with the Mrs. Elizabeth is pretty damn sick. She'll be in the Dr's Monday.
Elizabeth's mom is feeling well today. Its been a few weeks since we've heard that! Just an infection but you worry about every little thing.
Lisa broke her hand today too. Dunno the details. I was manning the baby front whenever that was happening and Liz crashed early.
Me? I'm okay. There is a surprising amount of peanut butter on my pants today. Peanut butter sandwich does not seem to be a "walking around" snack. The smell of roasted peanuts is certainly the best baby smell I've ever been contaminated with. Kinda pissed I farted around and didn't get the Halloween decorations up this week. Feeling good though. Ready to take care of a house full of sick girls.
Here is what happens when you hit nitroglycerin with a hammer:
BOOO-411
Google is closing 1-800-GOOG-411, their first speech recognition service that acted as a free 'voice-powered directory assistance', on November 12. It provided the foundation for Google's more recent voice-powered efforts, included Voice Search and Voice Input and Actions (the latter two are only available on Android devices). If you were still a GOOG-411 user, you might want to consider one of their other voice search options, or switching to the still-available alternative, Bing 411. [The Official Google Blog]
Nose Sucking
There's this thing called an aspirator that is a rubber ball pump for sucking out baby snot. This was a real pain when she was small(er). Now its easy. Grandpop grabs this pump and puffs air in her face and says "Okay Baby Girl. I'm gonna shove this up your nose." You just can't say that without giggling. I giggle; She giggles; I shove the nose vac up there. Boggies come out and everyone cheers.
Its all in the presentation. Ya gotta have Zaz. Babies love Zaz.
Always Greener Pastures
Dead Rising 2 Review
GUO: Hi! Nice to see your father did well enough to warrant a sequel. Hard to go wrong with a game about surving in a mall full of zomies, eh?
DR2: You trying to say something?
GUO: Yeah. Hi!
DR2: [unintelligible grumbling]
GUO: So... Like to share a little about yourself?
DR2: You familiar with Harlan Ellison?
GUO: Of course. Out site is called Growing Up Otaku and written by a Polock in the US. I am versed in all major forms of cold war sci-fi.
DR2: HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT.
GUO: Yes. I Have No-
DR2: FOR YOU. HATE. HATE.
GUO: Yes. I see. You know-
DR2: HATE
GUO: Cut to commercial!
"Punched Up" Civ 5 Review
Here's the setup again: Growing Up Otaku presents a Civilization 5 Video Review wherein our American player sits down with Civ5's AI Queen Elizabeth for a brief chat.
Defending the Netbook
Well, they didn't "learn". They bumbled into it by having a 10" iPod Touch.
Rock Band out to screw you yet again
Pro Guitar mode will NOT be available for future DLC in many cases. When a Pro Guitar track is added to DLC, you will need to pay an extra $1 to get it. Yep, moving up to $3 per song.
It should be well known that owning Rock Band on anything other than a X360 is dumb. The PS3 gets off hand support 4-6months late and the Wii... Just don't ask. The Wii versions of Rock Band games are usually just flat out insulting (except Beatles Rock Band). How will Rock Band continue this tradition of neglect? No keyboard bundle for the PS3. Shocking...not.
Track import from RB2 has not been announced other than the fact that it will exist. No pricing (expect $10-$15) and no list of exportable songs (expect to loose 5).
While there is a mode similar to GH's "party mode" it will not allow you to drop in/out except between songs and you cannot mix/match hardware. Standard band or bust.
Changes may still come, but don't hold your breath. On the upside, I have a large RB library and am looking forward to an engine update. Still would like to see a less...geriatric song list tho.
OnLive Drops Monthly Access Fee
Check out The Future. OoooohOOooo
State of the Blog Address
Reminder that I will be swapping out the Movie Nite selections this week. Watch 'em or bookmark 'em if you care. Its not like any of that is going to disappear from the net anyway. I don't have a page counter on that so I can't tell who's using it (smart money says no one).
Picnic Day
Homemade Space Cam @ 100,000ft
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
Operation Payback Continues... Still.
Looking back
Really Hulu?
I'm watching Dr. Who vs The Daleks on the Internet. Yes on smartphones. No on eyelash enhancement cream. DUH!
Chloe can haz moar apples now?
She actually made some nice headway on this one :)
Dragonforce in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
She's no TtFaF, but its still 7 minutes of Dragonforce. If stuff looks crazy (star power, multipliers), its from the Quest mode. This is All Powerful (all maxed powers).
Busted
Still freaking shaking :)
You Have To Burn The Rope...Again!
Let us return together to the past. Again. While there is still time. For the first time. Amen.
Huh? I don't know. Anyway,
You Have To Burn The Rope
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/432872
Don't forget the little song at the end :)
Moving Up In The World
Civilization 5 Video Review
Aliens Saved Humanity
"I have done that which your leaders have been unwilling or unable to do."
Superman took it upon himself to rid the Earth of nuclear weapons. Then he snorted a bunch of red Kryptonite an hit on his old girlfriend, but that's not the important part. This is:
An alien saved mankind from itself.
Pretty awesome, huh? Psyched? Go read this:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/tinfoil-tuesdays-ufos-neutered-nukes-air-force-officers-claim/
Eureka 4 in 1 Stick Vacuum
This thing is great. Its a large, high powered dustbuster with a pop on head and telescoping neck to be a upright vacuum. This is the only way I've been able to keep the dining intact during Tropical Storm Baby Girl. Its a high powered dustbuster and a low powered bare floor vac.
Cord is a little short. Maybe 6ft. 3 prong plug makes using a small extension cord tough. No beater bar, so it can't do much for high pile carpet.
Got this at Big Lots for $18. Walmart has 'em for $20. I'd say its worth $25.
Creative Commons Licencing - Video Report
Comments on Creative Commons Licensing - Special Report
Managing Editor Krutzler of Growing Up Otaku would like to take a moment to remind you that none of the original content here at Growing Up Otaku is available under such licensing conditions. If you reprint my material I will find you. I will sue you. I will take your house and dog and I will track mud all over your carpet. The legal staff of Growing Up Otaku live only to see my enemies broken and hear the lamenting of their women. Post it on Facebook? Gimme. Use that email button down there? Dolla Dolla Bill, Ya'll. Print it out? You owe me. Mention the URL to someone? Royalties time. You bookmark this site? What's the name of the bookmark? Nickel please. Once I have the technology to track it, you'll pay two cents everytime you type the address into your address bar. Five cents for a bookmark is a better deal. Here, try this:
Say "growing up otaku" out loud.
Go ahead. Its okay. See, no capital letters. Say "growing up otaku".
Okay, and add the bookmark, referal, both written and oral use of... Hmm... Ya know, why don't I just cut you some slack. Let's make all this mess go away for $12,000. Whadya say?
So far Baby Girl is much more of a "kiss the duck" than a "slay the dragon" type of person. Still pretty sure I can adapt some form of tabletop wargame ruleset to "pick the flowers"
Amazon Mom Gives Free Amazon Prime Accounts to Parents [Dealhacker]
We've highlighted how Amazon Student offers a free year of Amazon Prime—the mega-retailer's free two-day shipping program—to anyone with an EDU address. If it's been a while since you've been a student but you've got a young one running around, reader spcomputing points out the Amazon Mom program:
You can get a free 3-month Amazon Prime membership if you are the primary caregiver of your children. For every $25 you spend on baby stuff per order, you extend your membership 1 month, up to a maximum of 1 year free. Plus up to 30% off on select diapers.
If you're bristling a little at the bad name, Amazon emphasizes that:
Despite the name, Amazon Mom is open to anyone who is responsible for caring for a baby or young child—"Amazon Primary Caregiver" just didn't have the same ring to it.
Yaaaaawwn
I WISH CIV5'S AI FELT THE SAME WAY!!!!
Seriously! I mean I wasn't expecting Civ4's AI (Soren Johnson is probably the best AI programmer today), but COME ON! Seems like it should do something. I'm even playing on a harder difficulty than I usually do. Sadness :(
We Love The Webmaster Day
In other love related news, Mom is sponsoring a new video card. Actually that happened earlier this week, but I haven't had a line on a sweet deal. There's also a price war going on I'm waiting to stabilize.
Poop Everywhere
Culture Time
Personal Update
Really didn't want to work on the blog today. Think I've forgotten how to relax
BG is home tomorrow. The keeps with her perfect record of not ever attending day care for a full week. Fine by me :)
Again, I really appreciate the help with Dropbox. Since I'm most folks tech support guy, this service will be invaluable to all of us. Google Docs is nice, but the 1GB file limit has its problems. Besides, now everyone has a 2.2GB backup drive in the sky and that is always a good thing.
Also gonna pimp On Site Movie Nite again. Hopefully someone will get a chuckle. It wasn't exactly hard, but none of this stuff is "just click that" easy either. You wouldn't believe a pain it is to change that baby pic ;)
Love,
The Management
Operation Payback Continues
I feel a bit better about this is A)It has stopped when it was supposed to and B) Anonymous wasn't involved. I'm not a fan. Any group formed by a shared hatred is not really... dunno. I'm frequently shocked at how much anti-Scientology talk I've heard out of otherwise open minded people (like anyone reading). Its like any other religion. Just let 'em do their thing. They aren't hurting anyone who doesn't want to be hurt.
Also, basing you image on a movie as bad a V for Vendetta? Bleh. Yeah, it was visually striking but...bleh.
Finally, read at least the last third of the article. I think our "contact" is a writer for Torrentfreak and is testing using the news to co-ordinate attacks.
http://torrentfreak.com/new-4chan-ddos-targets-hated-anti-piracy-law-firm-100922/
Also, this is why the 'net's been running so bad the past few days. In case you were wondering
New D&D Red Box
Here's a blurb from Geekdad:
The new Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is the most unique and engaging way to introduce someone to a roleplaying game I think I’ve ever seen.
OK. Let’s back up for a second. The new Starter Set was designed to mimic the appearance — and to an extent, the purpose — of the 1983 D&D set. The ‘83 set was designed to contain all of the Basic D&D rules in one location, and unless you wanted to buy another adventure, you were good to go.But that was a more innocent time. These days there are decades of rules. Countless races, more monsters than would even fit in three books, entire worlds, and dozens of adventures ranging from slim booklets to hardbound campaigns. The Player’s Handbook could easily be the size of a phone book, with players howling over all the important rules that didn’t make the cut.
So, one might ask, what could Wizards of the Coast possibly put in the new Red Box that could meaningfully prepare someone for playing D&D? The idea that Wizards of the Coast could cram a relevant portion of the rules into a boxed set is absurd.Instead of serving as a rulebook, the D&D Starter Set has a different purpose — to lure n00bs into becoming D&D fans. The set consists of two booklets, one for players and one for Dungeon Masters, as well as dice, character sheets, power cards, a battle map and character tokens.
The player’s book downright fascinates me. You remember the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books? Well, that’s what the player’s book is. Give the book to a n00b and he or she can self-direct through a simple adventure and learn the basic terms and rules.The DM’s book presents like a more traditional basic rulebook. It begins where the player’s book leaves off — OK, you basically like what you’re seeing, now what? The DM’s book guides the reader through game terminology, gives gamemastering tips, and includes adventures, monster listings and other classic staples. The group can make a small number of archetypal characters, and battle a small number of archetypal monsters.
Best of all, a group of neophytes can get a handle on the game without a huge investment in time. Nor of money — the suggested retail is a non-allowance-busting $19.99 ($13.59 on Amazon!) so it really isn’t a major gamble for kids to buy.Like any product, it’s not for everyone. Experienced players will find little of value in the set. However, if you or someone you know wants to dip their toe onto the vast and turbulent D&D swimming pool, this is the set you’ll want.