NBC and Apple at War over iTunes

This is insane. NBC - the most successful and profitable of the iTunes Music Store's TV show suppliers - has cancelled their contract with Apple. This means NBC would no longer sell their shows thru the iTMS as of December 31. Their side intimated that Apple was unreasonable in their pricing policies and refused to allow NBC to bundle shows (The Office) with movies (Evan Almighty). Then Apple came back and claimed that the reason for the impasse was that NBC wanted to charge $4.99 per episode for TV shows. Then Apple announced they would not be carrying any of NBC's new shows in the Fall. Thus NBC loses out on the profits from 6 months of selling The Office and Heroes.

Let me be very clear. I am quite perturbed about this. I want the ability to download Heroes this season, but also have an EyeTV device and am NOT afraid to simply record the show, edit out commercials, and transfer them to my AppleTV, iPod, and iPhone at will. NBC, Please do what is necesary to get Heroes back onto the iTMS. And "what is necesary" can NOT be $4.99 per episode. I won't buy ONE episode at that price, especially when I know I can get it on DVD for about $1 per episode in the end.

Sigh. Such foolishness

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

(Sent from my iPhone)

Perspective

Moral Complexity in Sci-Fi

I just can't bother to comment on anything political...It's all so boring to me. But I do finally have something to say again =) It's always struck me that considering that science fiction is supposed to be morally complex and supposed to point us to our own humanity, it is often times terribly shallow. And no where does this show up more frequently than in the 'bad guys' in science fiction. Having a cardboard cutout baddie might be sufficient for a summer action flick. But when it comes to science fiction, it always struck me that the evil characters should really drive a lot of the moral issues. But this hasn't been the case, by and large. Instead, they are often times virtually just parodies. They are mostly corporate leaders of some massive conglomerate of the future, or alien invaders simply bent on taking over earth, or some other cheap and easy story.

But I've seen some changes recently. One of the first places I saw it was in Farscape. Scorpious was easily my favorite villian ever. He never did anything unless there were several reasons for it. His background story was compelling and his evilness came not from some desire to rule over the universe in some cliche manner but rather, to secure the saftey of his people. His evilness ultimately spawned from a misguided selfishness that allowed him to use anyone and everyone for his own means. For an alien, he was one of the most human bad guys to ever show up on the sci-fi channel.

Then came the remake of BSG. For whatever complaints there can be about this show, the Cylons are so well written that there are episodes in which they are my favorite characters. Especially in light of the season finale and the selection of who are apparently the remaining five, we've seen a "bad guy" that is equal with humanity in the ability to morally reason, to desire, and to act on those human impluses. And of course, there's Baltar who is consistently the best character anywhere on TV to watch. Many people hate him, but I believe that's as much a testament to the point I'm making as anything else. How many evil characters in science fiction have you really truly hated? Far too often, the evil characters in science fiction are just stock characters that are difficult to care about.

Heroes broke ground in this area as well. Fans across the globe fell in love with Sylar, many even rooting for him. His character is possibly the most compelling of the entire cast. I don't think I remember so many people rooting for the bad guy since the Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader finally taught his brat son a lesson. (I know, I just had to fit that shot at Luke in) Sylar's motivation is so dangerous becuase of his faith in what he is doing. Having been given a vision of his purpose in life, he is carrying it out with deadly efficiency. Remind you of anything we've heard about in our world lately?

And this brings me to the character who really got this ball rolling. And it's in about the last place I expected to find any sort of deep moral complexity. Sci-Fi's newest show "Flash Gordon" has managed to create a character who I have felt instantly drawn too. The movie version's Ming was a terrible (And somewhat racist) shallow image of a villan. He was about as serious an evil character as Christoper Walken is in "Balls of Fury." But the Ming in the new version is immediately an incredible character. We find out early on that Mongo was in terrible trouble, billions dying and chaos everywhere. Ming alone is able to bring order back. He single-handedly brings his people back from the brink. He is a hero to his people. However, survival in this world is a harsh affair and Ming will do whatever is necessary to ensure that the society he has helped save continues. This makes him tyrannical. His daughter says in the first episode, "Sometimes being a hero means being a tyrannt." It's an interesting moral statement.

The show has already given several chances for us to see this played out. For example, in one episode, a man is caught smuggling ice (An offense worthy of death in this world.) When Ming finds out that the man was doing so to save his daughter from a terrible fever, he promises the family that the girl will have all the water she needs and he makes sure she is saved. However, he still puts the father to death. When questioned by his daughter as to why he would be so inhuman, he argues that to allow this ice smuggling to unpunished would encourage others to do the same, threatening the balance of the society. "I have taken one life, and saved thousands. You would have me save one life to sacrifice thousands." We might or might not agree with his ultimate logic, but at least he's actually displaying some. The Ming of old would have simply killed the man for the fun of it.

Perhaps it's the morally complex time in which we live, perhaps it's just that sci-fi writers are really focusing on character development over silly plots, or perhaps it's something else altogether. For whatever the reason, I've seen a real maturation of the genre recently and I hope it continues on.

Very Interesting Video Sharing Site

I know a few of our regular Mod-Blog readers are big believers in video sharing sites like YouTube as an alternative to television and DVDs. There is a new one out there, called Video Hybrid. Essentially, it is NOT a sharing site, per se, as it stores no videos. Instead, you can post requets for movies or TV shows. Then members "hunt down" the videos already existing on other Filesharing sites, and post links onto this site, including an embedded version for immediate viewing.

The quality varies widely, but I was able to quickly find THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, TRANSFORMERS, and KNOCKED UP.

Bart, I am your Father

I have to admit I have this thought regularly

GPS Thefts Are Epidemic

I love my Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS unit. As a man with NO sense of direction, I tend to stubbornly stick to the few routes I know even when there is horrible traffic or even total stoppages. But with my GPS, I can "detour" around areas with confidence. Likewise, when plans change or I am asked to go somewhere new, I don't need an hour of preparation with Mapquest or Google Maps before I am confident enough to go. I can simply enter the target address, and let the GPS talk me through it. The unit is not perfect - sometimes maps are out of date or take you a way which is only "fastest" in theory - but it has saved me HOURS of time and has restored YEARS to my life in stress.

But last year, my car was broken into and my GPS was stolen when I left it in my car while I was not there. It was literally a 10 minute period that I was not in the car, but the thieves had sufficient time to break the window, grab out the unit and the holder, and run off. The police officer who responded told me that portable GPS thefts are epidemic, because the units are easily seen, easily grabbed, and easily re-sold because they do not "phone home" and thus are essentially untraceable. I bought a replacment, but now ALWAYS take it inside with me or at least hide it somewere in the car.

It turns out that I am not alone in this experience:

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_6744653

New iPods September 5?

If you're planning on buying an iPod, iPod Nano, or iPhone, it may be a good idea to hold off a week. Apple has alerted reporters of a "special media event" on September 5, and stock of the media players are at suspiciously low levels at retailers across the country. This typically means an iPod update is on the way. No idea yet if this means iPhone-like iPods or updated scroll-wheel iPods or both.

Review: The Invasion

I saw The Invasion last night with my brother-in-law. Although I have not seen either the 1956 or 1978 versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I enjoyed the movie. Plot-wise, the movie wasn't very special. It is, for the most part, your basic "Save the planet from destruction" type movie. At one point in the movie, I actually chuckled at how ridiculous it had gotten.

That being said, there were two things that I found interesting. First, there was a new camera / time line trick I had not seen before. Twice during the movie, the screen did a split. In one pane, the movie continued the current scene. In the other pane, it showed what happens directly after the current scene. I don't know that I would have enjoyed watching a movie that continually used this as your mind has to meld both future and present together at the same time, but it was interesting nonetheless. The second was how they intertwined philosophy and current events into the plot. This movie was not a philosophical heavy movie, but it did have just a touch in there to add some substance to the basic plot.

All-in-all it's worth seeing if you have an interest in camera / time line work or want to see a fun movie with just a touch of philosophy in it. That being said, it's definitely one you can wait for to come out on DVD.

This movie is rated PG-13. The Kids-In-Mind review can be found here.

What is a "Civil Union" and how does it differ from "Marriage"?

Something often lost in the Same-Sex Marriage debate, is the question of what exactly a so-called "Civil Union" is. FactCheck.Org has up a great article that lays out exactly what he difference is, and why it is too much for some and not enough for others.

Other federal areas in which couples in civil unions don't have the same rights as married couples include immigration (a partner who's a foreign national can't become an American by entering into a civil union with someone) and veterans' and military benefits (only opposite-sex spouses have a right to pensions, compensation for service-related deaths, medical care, housing and the right to burial in veterans’ cemeteries). Gay couples, however, may actually benefit when applying for programs such as Medicaid or government housing that require low-income eligibility. A spouse’s income is included in such applications, but a same-sex partner’s income is not.

Very interesting and enlightening. It may change my opinion about which is the right way to go on this issue.

Free text messaging via Yahoo Mail!

Yahoo has apparently upgraded their webmail and part of the experience is free text messaging to phones in the USA and Canada!

The new Yahoo! Mail enables people to select how they want to communicate with their online contacts: via e-mail, instant message or text message to a mobile phone number. With the introduction of this text messaging feature, which is built on Yahoo!’s IM platform, people can now choose to send free text messages from Yahoo! Mail to mobile numbers in the US, Canada, India and the Philippines in real-time without leaving the Web mail experience. The feature is seamlessly incorporated into the new Yahoo! Mail, and is as easy as entering a mobile phone number, typing a text message and hitting send.

Very cool. And for iPhone users, an easy way around the 200-per-month limit on your AT&T text messages. Of course, it is only free on the SENDING side. Per-message charges may still exist on the RECIEVING side, so be sure to check before you send.

I think we need more extension cords

Proof that guns require less skill than bows

Now Thats A Gun - Watch more free videos
This one is for you, Bowhunter.

Democrats Get it Right

The Democrats today got something right and are to be commended for their decision to force the state of Florida Democrats to push back their primary until February 5th or after or risk losing all of their delegates to the nominating convention. If the classic primary system is to be continued then we need some sort of order and control. Good job Democrats in standing tough.

The Impact of War on Politics and Presidential Elections

I just finished listening to the Audio Book version of TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a retelling of the history of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the waging of the Civil War from the vantage point of Lincoln's cabinet members. There is a lot of profundity in the book, showing how important relationships and rivalries are to the efficient running of government. It even shows why self-absorbed, self-promoting, self-obsessed men can be the most effective tools of government, even when they are not the kind of people you'd want in the same room with you. It is highly recommended.

But one of the things that struck me most from the book is the political similarities to our own time, and our own war. Now, I am not comparing GWB to Lincoln. We are too close to his times to accurately brand the current administration as either saints or a demons. But the political realities here are so very similar. Like the Iraq War, the Civil War began as a popular war with great support among the people. The first battle was actually a social event for residents of D.C., as they brought out picnic gear to watch the battle from a "safe" distance. Like the Iraq War, bitter realities quickly became apparent, as the enemy was found to have been underestimated and far more devious and dedicated than the government had expected. And like the Iraq War, an anti-war movement quickly formed and coalesced as the "loyal opposition". Like the upcoming election, the election for Lincoln's mid-term (he was not alive for the one after his second term) was all about the War. Going into Fall, the lack of a major victory made it seem like victory was impossible. The Republicans even scheduled a second convention to pick a new candidate. But then several victories in a row elevated Lincoln and the party, and he was elected in a landslide.

I think the lesson here is that what we are seeing today is not an "unprecedented Constitutional crisis", as the extremists of both sides would have us think. We are seeing a very familiar American dynamic. The battle right now is not so much Right vs Left, or Republican vs Democrat. Rather, it is Energy vs Fatigue. And the final decision can not be predicted in 2007, because events on the ground in Iraq will govern 2008 far more than anything said or done today. If there is victory in 2008, the GOP is virtually guaranteed a win. If there is more grinding persistence or defeat, the Democrats are virtually guaranteed a win. All of the debates, posturing, politicking doesn't mean much of anything.

The key is to do what we can to ensure that both candidates chosen for the major parties are people we can live with. Because chances are neither will be elected on their own merits, but on those of the War.

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Yeah, this is my life right now

NAACP says Vick shouldn't be banned from football

So, the head of the NAACP in Atlanta says that Michael Vick shouldn't be banned from football on account of his dog fighting activities or because he's going to jail for a federal offense. Instead...

"We should join hands as a team and recognize the fact that Mr. Vick is human, humans make mistakes, but we maintain that he is a redeemable human,'' said R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP. "And as a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation."

If this wasn't a family friendly blog I think I might swear. "As a society we should aid in his rehabilitation,". What the heck is that!? I thought sending him to jail was aiding in his rehabilitation. Banning him from football - for any amount of time - is also aiding in his rehabilitation. Actions have consequences and getting kicked out of football is one of the consequences Vick is going to have to face. Maybe next time he will value the blessing of being able to play in the NFL a little more highly.

Do you care about the MTV/MySpace candidate forums?

I understand that the 'youth' vote is important (when exactly is the youth vote not the youth vote any longer) for candidates, so they're willing to do just about anything in order to get it. MTV clearly understands this and have thus implemented many different efforts to get candidates to debase themselves work with them. The newest effort is a series of one-on-one forums where a candidate will take questions via MySpace. Supposedly this is going to be unfiltered and thus the candidates will have to answer lots of questions that don't generally come up in a stump speech. Somehow, I imagine it sounding a lot like a stump speech on pot - call me cynical.

I watched the YouTube 'debate' and it ranged from irrelevant to outright silly (partially because it was democrats and partially because of the questions). I can only imagine that this forum will be much of the same.


So am I the only one that feels this way about these youth oriented events? Personally I like good ol' fashioned campaigning, but then maybe I'm outta' touch.

Multivitamins to avoid

A recent study apparently discovered that a number of major multivitamins on the market are at best useless and at worst harmful. You may want to click over and check out this list, to make sure you and your loved ones are not partaking of these:

http://i.timeinc.net/health/i/downloads/vitaminsno.pdf

84 year-old man still driving his first car... a Model T!

I know a number of our readers work in the automotive maintenance field, and I wonder how eager they would be to get their hands on Clarence Curtiss's car. Mr. Curtiss still owns his first car, bought during the Depression, and it is a Model T! He credits the longevity of the car to changing the oil every 3,000 miles. If only I had known this a year ago when I let my one car go about 10,000 miles between oil changes and wound up grinding the engine into a useless block of metal.

Oh, yeah. And Mr. Curtiss lives right here in Shelton, CT as well!

Romney Continues to Waver on Abortion

In reading this article at ABC News, two things stood out. One, ABC News is trying to put the screws to Romney. Two, Romney is trying to avoid losing any votes due to abortion views. In the article, Mitt Romney explains that he would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the choice of abortion up to the states. Previously, he stated that he supported the Republican pro-life platform. He responded to this dichotomy by saying that ultimately he wants to see the abortion banned, but that a national ban is not achievable at this time. Instead, he would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. Which way will Romney end up choosing if elected president?

To view news about abortion on Mitt Romney's site, click here.

T-Rex vs. Beckham? I'd rather see a T-Rex and Posh

Want to see a shameless way to meld an article into being about David Beckham? Check out this article on CNNSI.com which talks about scientists figuring out the top speed of dinosaurs and pointing out that they could run faster than current sportsmen including David Beckham.

Ohio oversight destroys the secret ballot

This is bad. My father - a lawyer - used to say that the Secret Ballot was one of the most sacred protections of democracy. The secret ballot ensures that no one can persecute you for your vote (consider the horrible tactics used at the Straw Polls) and no one can sell their vote either, because there is no way to confirm your vote either way. However, new rules in Ohio have made it trivial to match up voters with votes. The attempt to make elections more transparent to avoid fraud has gone too far:

http://news.com.com/E-voting+predicament+Not-so-secret+ballots/2100-1014_3-6203323.html

The Pill for Pigeons

Apparently, Hollywood has a problem with pigeons. Well, to be more blunt, they have a problem with the messes that pigeons make. The solution? Birth control for the pigeons. You would think the animal rights activists would go crazy over this, but it was PETA's idea. In a few years, I wonder if we'll be hearing about the endangered pigeon population in Hollywood with calls to save the pigeons.

Since no one else posted today

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

I guess they are serious

Heroes Preview

Sitcom logic, but it makes sense

I am still not sure why this makes me laugh so much

China passes regulations for Reincarnation

You may think that what happens between you and God is private and something that no government can truly enforce. China disagrees.

China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country.

We must remember that through China is an important trading partner, their society is still Communist and willing to do almost anything to retain control of its people.

Mmmmm... Science....

Science & Technology videos - Beautiful Science Experiment

Now I want to try this at home, and I don't have any kids!

Heros meets Star Trek: TOS...again

I, along with millions of other people, fell in love with the NBC show Heroes last year. One of the coolest things was seeing George Takei (Commander Sulu from Star Trek) on the show - not to mention he played a really cool/creepy/mysterious character. Well, the Heroes casting director has done it again. This time they hired Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) to be a relative to heroes. I know lots of people had a creepy-sexual thing with her character from ST:TOS, but I always just liked the character - at least as much as you can like a semi-unimportant character. Anyway, it will be cool to see her on TV again. Even though I never saw her on TV when ST:TOS was originally aired - obviously.

Mine would include the front door to pick up Amazon.Com packages, too

Criticism of FTL Claims

ArsTechnica has up an analysis of the claims by two German scientists to have broken the light-speed barrier. Basically, it looks like the Germans forgot a few things like experimental data for others to look at and some important differences between "the speed of light in a vacuum" and "the speed of light in anything else".

Furthermore, if you analyze the components of the fields that contain the energy, you find that they do have a non-zero speed of light and it is—you guessed it—the same c that applies everywhere else in the universe.

So although this makes for an interesting physics lecture—or at least I thought it was interesting—it is not new physics and not a breakdown of special relativity.

I am hoping that this is brought to heel quickly, and does not turn into another Cold Fusion debacle.

mmm.... In-N-Out Burger

One of the things I enjoy living out in California now is some of the different restaurants we have out here. One of them is In-N-Out Burger. Even though it's fast food, everything is fresh. The other cool thing is that some of their containers such as their cups have Bible references on them. For the most part they only exist in CA, so come out and visit me and we'll grab a burger, fries, and milkshake.

Christianity for Dummies...ugh!

It's well known around here that I and all of the authors on Mod-Blog are Christians. I take my Christianity rather seriously, but even in that I'm pretty tolerant of different views and doctrines on what it means to be a Christian and how one lives as a Christian. Despite being not quite 30, I've been around the church quite a bit, so I can see positives in quite a few things. With that said, today as I was reading my Boarders Rewards email I saw that Joel Osteen is putting out a new book and my heart sunk. It's not that I dislike him so much as I dislike what he represents - the Dummies approach to Christianity. His new book is subtitled (the title doesn't really matter) 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Everyday. I hate this whole idea that Christianity can be summed up in 5, 6, 7 or God forbid 3 easy steps. Christianity is GREAT, but the idea that it can be summed up that easily is disgusting to me. The last church I worked at did the Purpose Driven Life campaign, which has admittedly helped lots of people, but it made me sick. As a pastor you get a stack of sermons that go with the campaign. These sermons are more like persuasive speeches than actual sermons. There is no major scripture to ponder and hardly a theological point that needs to be ingested. Instead you get proof-texts chosen from whatever translation uses the word they're trying to pass off as this great theological insight, it doesn't even matter if the context of the verse points to that point or whether the translation is good. All that matters is that this translation says what I want it to say. Any first year religion student can do that, heck you don't even have to be a religion student - if you can read you can do it. Is this really what the great Christian minds of America think we, as the church, need?

In so many ways it feels like they're lying about Christianity. Like I said before, Christianity is great, but sometimes it really sucks. There are times in every Christian's life when the will of God seems like male bovine fecal matter, when you just don't want to be a Christian. There are parts of the bible that are hard to understand and others that are hard when you understand them. It's not that I'm against teaching about the good parts of Christianity, I think that it needs to be taught, but we need to be fair to people coming to Christ that Jesus is difficult and there are a lot of things that are going to be hard. Seriously, the last thing the Church needs is another Joel Osteen book (or board game ). I believe that if we study the bible - really study it, the whole thing not just our favorite parts - that we'll find ourselves as a better people - call me naive. We need to embrace mystery, accept that we're not always going to understand God, that the 5 easy steps might not work this time and there is a reason for that happening. Christianity is so much bigger than just telling people about Jesus that when we dumb it down we are doing a severe disservice to the church and our culture as a whole. The Dummies approach to Christianity leaves us with weak Christians that drop out at the first sign of difficulty.

Rant over. :)

Speed of Light Exceeded?

There are few fundamental constraints of the universe. But according to Einstein, one of them is that NOTHING can exceed the speed of light in a vacuum. No matter how matter how many sci fi shows you have watched which played fast and loose with faster-than-light travel, they all are a major volation of physical law as we know it.

But now two German scientists have claimed to have broken that law by means of electron tunneling. They claim to have instantaneously moved a light particle between points in space. If proven right - and if proven without massive caveats - this could be one of the biggest discoveries since quantum theory.

Sad But True

This one is for Shadowmom

XMen3 - The Last Standing Ovation - Watch more free videos

Funny flickr pic

I see at work every day

Happy Birthday, Shadowmom!

We here at Mod-Blog want to wish Shadowmom a VERY Happy Birthday! May today be a day of joy and warmth, and may this next year be one of accomplishment and daily happyness.

Rove Resigns?

So says the Wall Street Journal. My thoughts. This probably is not a no-confidence vote in Bush, but rather a sign that Rove has chosen his candidate for 2008 and is leaving to prepare to assist THAT campaign with their run. I could be wrong, but Rove has never been a man to back down for any other reason than ambition for the next thing.

Gas price at BJ's in CT

Gas price at BJ's in CT
Originally uploaded by crchair

It strikes Midnight for Shelton Little League

For every Cinderalla Story, there is a moment when midnight strikes and everyone has to go back to being a pumpkin. You always hope that the moment comes after the championship. But for Shelton Little League, the time came early. Yesterday, they lost to Wallpole American despite a heroic bid for victory. Our sympathies to the team.

Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll

It remains to be seen if this is significant, since neither Guiliani nor McCain (nor Thompson) showed up, but CRChair's favorite candidate Mitt Romney won the Iowa straw poll this weekend. It is unclear if the non-appearance of the other candidates was strategic (i.e. Iowa doesn't matter) or tactical (i.e. they knew they couldn't win). But congrats to Mitt.

Romney's win in the nonbinding Ames contest, sealed by his appeals to the party's conservative base and generous spending all around the state, underscored his attempt to concentrate time and resources on the opening states of Iowa and New Hampshire, believing that early victories will propel him to the nomination...Romney's victory came against a relatively weak field that did not include Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona or former senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, and after he heavily outspent those who did compete. Still, the result, with Romney easily outpacing his rivals with 32 percent of the vote, helps elevate him from relative obscurity six months ago to the top tier of the GOP field -- despite his relatively low standing in national polls.

"I think today, the way it worked out, is this is really the defining moment for the base candidate," Romney adviser Tom Rath said. "With Giuliani, McCain and Thompson not here, I would make the argument that this was very definitely a test of who was strong with the base. . . . We think we can expand on that base as the conservative candidate going forward. That keeps us in this game a long time."

As for me, I still do not see a Republican that I know I can vote for, since Guiliani, Gingrich, and McCain have disqualified themselves in my mind.

Woman-Speak Translations for Men

I am neither married nor currently in a relationship. So, I have no significant woman in my life to check with on this. But somehow, I suspect this post could have saved many relationships. Men and women both speak English here in the USA, but that does not mean they speak the same language.

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

Married bloggers, if it is safe to do so, please educate me on whether these would have been useful in your pre-marriage counselling.

Voltron coming to the Big Screen

I was a big fan of Voltron as a kid. The lions merging to form the giant robot that fights for peace, justice, and... uh... the end to giant mutant monsters was always fun to watch. And now, following the success of the Transformers movie they are planning a live action Voltron movie as well. I have got to say that while I have been a fan of the Transformers movie from almost day 1, I have never really felt there was a need for a Voltron movie. I simply do not see it being a good candidate for the Big Screen, because it asks for too many suspensions of disbelief to work. Besides, isn't the more recent Power Rangers basically a live action Voltron with karate thrown in?

Steve Nash's Summer Vacation

What does a former 2 time NBA MVP do for his summer vacation? He plays soccer of course. Steve Nash has been playing in New York City Soccer Rec leagues this summer to stay in shape for the upcoming NBA season. He says he enjoys soccer much more than just "running lines". Some football players box or do karate. These are all great ways for athletes to stay in shape and exercise their brains at the same time. I hope parents pick up on this as Steve Nash also says that this helps him not get "burned out" on basketball.

Changes to Global Warming Calcs

Readers of this Blog know I am not a fan of the Global Warming Movement. It is not that I do not think activists sometimes raise good points - I think Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" was well-done and thought-provoking - but they all-too-often are willing to latch onto any hyperbolic notion in order to try and sway opinion. It is hard enough to believe humans could have actually changed the global climate without bringing foolishness like "The Day After Tomorrow" into it. (Great special effects, though! Loved the instra-freeze of New York City.)

An example of a Global Warming scientist doing things right has emerged. In this article, a Y2K bug was found in the calculations of one of the more influential scientists in the movement, and instead of either (1) claiming that an error was impossible or (2) blaming it on a conspiracy, the scientist (and his critic) simply corrected the data and republished it. The result? Scientifically, the data is changed little - the overall deviation changes 1% or so. But rhetorically it changes radically. 5 of the hottest days in history have moved from the 90s, to prior to World War 2.

Shelton Little League Continues the Dream!

In 1988 my hometown little league team won the World Series. (That was Trumbull, CT. I was in High School at the time and had never been anywhere NEAR a game, if you are wondering. I was in Marching Band Camp at the time.) It was a great time for the town and for the kids, and I did not think I'd be seeing that again in my lifetime. Well, since we moved to Shelton, it appears I was wrong!

Jacob Lennertz never dreamed of pitching a three-hitter in this spot. Nick Petrovich just wanted to hit it hard. They both surpassed their hopes Thursday night, and Shelton National is within one game of the Little League World Series. It avenged its only New England Regional loss with a 6-0 semifinal win over Portland (Maine) North at Breen Field. Lennertz struck out 13, and Petrovich went 3-for-4 with a game-clinching home run and four RBIs. With a win Saturday over Walpole (Mass.) American, Shelton National would be the first Connecticut team to reach Williamsport, Pa., since Trumbull National won it all in 1989.
"It feels really good," said Petrovich, who was on the mound last Saturday in a pool-play loss to Portland. "I wouldn't rather do it with anybody else."
The regional final is Saturday at 2 p.m., and the game will air on ESPN.

Go Shelton Nationals!!! Go all the way!

Why You Should Get Rid of Your Cell Phone

I got a cell phone in 1999 or 2000. It was simple. It was about the size of a cordless phone handset, it had an address book, and it called people. I could operated it easily without looking at it. It may have done a few more things, but it was nothing special. Most importantly, the phone worked well.

I now have a Cingular 8125 Windows Mobile smartphone. It plays music and videos, it surfs the internet, it can connect over WiFi, I can even remote control our Windows servers. Oh, yeah, I can also call people on it.

Back in 1999, my phone was for "emergencies", short "where are you?" conversations, and the occasional call to order take out while traveling home from school. If I left my cell phone at home, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Now, my cell phone is apart from me. If I forget it at home, I worry about what I'm missing. (To be fair to myself, I have gotten a little better recently.) I've sometimes wondered, "What would my life look like if I didn't have a cell phone?" Then my mind starts racing with all of the reasons I can't give up my cell phone. "What if someone needs to get in touch with me?" "A cell phone is so convenient when I need to make calls." "It has games on it for while you're waiting for something."

Wired has up a post entitled "Ten Reasons To Throw Away Your Cellphone". I know I have to agree with "It makes you perpetually available" and "It must constantly be recharged".

Alaskan View of Sen. Ted Stevens

Neal Boortz had up a link to a good article by an Alaskan on how Senator Ted Stevens is viewed in Alaska. I thought it contained good background information for anyone looking at the current investigation of him to read.

Vote Swapping Sites Are Legal

In the 2000 election, a new breed of website popped up which was both weird and fascinating. Vote swapping sites would allow a voter in a state with a close vote in the Presidential election (say Bush 45%, Gore 46%, Nader 9%) to swap their vote with a voter in a state where the election was clearly lopsided (say Bush 60%, Gore 35%, Nader 5%). A voter in the close state might "swap" a Nader vote in his state with a Gore vote in the lopsided state. This way, a Nader voter in the close-vote state could still ensure Nader's numerical number of votes stayed the same, without risking "throwing away his vote" when s/he would rather see Gore elected than Bush. At the time, most politicians were scandalized, and several sites were shut down by furious election officials. And the practical amongst us noted that it was a silly venture to use, since with a secret ballot there was no way to ensure the transaction actually took place on the other person's end.

Well, after years of legal wrangling, the courts have ruled vote swapping legal and efforts to shut down such websites as violating Free Speech! What does this mean? Probably not much in the short term, other than the return of vote swapping sites and much excitement amongst Ron Paul voters. But in the long term, in an age of close elections, it could be significant. Especially once political consultants figure out how to manipulate it for their own gain.

Go, Shelton Little League, Go!

Woo-hoo! The Little League team with our landlord's son on it has advanced to the regional semi-finals, and the paper has only good things to say about his performance!

Not only did Shelton National's Nick Petrovich do it with his arm, he also did it with his bat. Petrovich pitched a complete game, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out seven, and hit the go-ahead home run to lead his team to a 3-1 victory over Cranston (R.I.) in the New England Little League Regionals at Breen Field.
Shelton National, which rounds out pool play with a 3-1 record, advances to the semifinals on Thursday. The team will play at either 5 or 8 p.m. "Our kids deserve this. We pitch well, we throw strikes, and we make the plays on defense," Shelton National manager Mark Testani said.

I believe the New England Finals are set for Thursday, which I have am all set up to record on my EyeTV. If they win there, they go to the Nationals!

The Ultimate Space Walk

I have not heard of a new Sci-Fi movie, Sunshine, but in it apparently one of the characters has to walk outside in space without a suit. Slate has up an interesting article about what would happen if you did this. Slashdot also has a discussion. I found it quite interesting and not what I would have expected.

Other problems with Barry Bonds home runs than steroids

I found this article yesterday and it raises an interesting question - are there more problems with Barry Bonds's breaking of Hank Aaron's home run record than just his steroid use?

As a student of baseball – and currently a mechanics consultant to a major league baseball team -- I believe I have insight into the Bonds "achievement." I have studied his swing countless times on video and examined the mechanical gear closely through photographs.

For years, sportswriters remarked that his massive "protective" gear – unequaled in all of baseball -- permits Bonds to lean over the plate without fear of being hit by a pitch. Thus situated, Bonds can handle the outside pitch (where most pitchers live) unusually well. This is unfair advantage enough, but no longer controversial. However, it is only one of at least seven (largely unexplored) advantages conferred by the apparatus.

I reviewed this article with CRChair, and he was right in noting that it appears none of the "advantages" of the body armor appear to be illegal under MLB rules. However, one must wonder how well it compares with Hank Aaron who used only muscle, bone, tendon, and a wooden bat.

Viewing Changes to a Digital Image

At DefCon, a conference for computer hackers that takes place in Las Vegas, Neal Krawetz presented a tool that allows the user to see what parts of an image have been edited in later. With this tool, he was able to show that some of the Al-Qaeda videos have been doctored. Not surprising, but interesting.

Please note that despite what the media and pop-culture says, the word "hacker" is not a negative word. A hacker is merely one who tinkers with things. As with similar skills, they can be used for good or bad. A good example would be lock-picking. A locksmith can help you get into your car when you've locked yourself out the same way a thief can break into your car.

Newt calls war on terror 'phony'

In a speech the other day, Newt Gingrich said that we are waging a phony war on terror. His point was not that there is not a war to be waged on terror groups, but that the way we have been approaching it has not been realistic.

"We've been engaged in a phony war," said Gingrich. "The only people who have been taking this seriously are the combat military."

I think that this is a serious critique of the way the war has been run - as opposed to when Edwards called it a bumper sticker war and totally discounted that it needed to be waged. Gingrich's point on the other hand was that if we want to win then we need to take out those things that support terror groups - namely monetary support, of which a large part comes from middle east oil. Energy independence was where he was going. I think he made a good point, though I think that the use of the word 'phony' might have been over stating the case - surely used for dramatic effect, he knew what he was doing.

I know there are some ethical concerns about him as a presidential candidate, but when listening to him work out a lot of the current issues in American politics makes me wonder if he really is the best person for the job. Granted right now he gets to work in general political theory and not actually have to work with others on the issues. At the very least he would make political debates interesting.

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

We felt like this

We felt like this once when we were trying to get back from the Statue of Liberty Ferry to the highway.

Our landlord's son is on this team

Our landlord's son is on this team
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Not Real, But Fun

The Next iPhone

Russia Claims the North Pole... Everyone Else Rejects the Claim

The recent Russian attempt to claim the top of the world for their own has been baffling to me. It seems like nonsensical attempt to claim land that the international community has already declared... well... international. And when Russia already has millions of unexplored square miles in Siberia, why claim more generally unliveable square miles in another icy wasteland?

However other articles (including one no longer online - grrrrr!) clarify the story. This quest for more land, while extremely unpopular with the rest of the world, is HUGELY popular within Russia. It is a way for the government to stoke public opinion and seem powerful and effective... without having to actually DO anything. They can claim this new land and extend the "Russian Empire" in the eyes of Russians, without risking war or the international balance in the eyes of the rest of the world. One might call it a shrewd political stunt.

Here's hoping it remains purely a stunt, and does not eventually blossom into a new expansionist Russia.

Top Bargain Hunter Sites

As the web has made it easier than ever before to SPEND, it has also made it easier than ever before to SAVE. There are thousands of websites out there looking to save you money (and earn themselves the green in the process). This article collects the 20 most popular websites for saving money. Check them out, and you may just wind up with some extra spending money for a change.

This is SO my dog

Blockbuster Changes Pricing

Is Blockbuster allowed to change their prices and plans? Of course. Everyone is month-to-month and can cancel at any time. That doesn't mean we have to be happy with it. When Netflix came on the scene and started hurting Blockbuster, Blockbuster panicked and opened its own online store. They gave you a choice of two free in-store rentals per month or one free in-store rental per week. They promised investors they would get 200,000 customers by, I believe, December of last year, and were failing miserably. Then they offered Total Access, giving people a greater reason to jump the Netflix ship because they could turn their DVD mailers into the store and get a free movie for each mailer instead of just the two per month or four per week. The only downside to this is that combined with the new late fee policy, it has sometimes been harder to find movies.

Now Blockbuster is changing things up again. Apparently Total Access was too good of a thing. Now, instead of my $17.99 per month getting me 3 DVDs at a time plus unlimited in-store rentals, it only gets me 5 per month. To get the unlimited in-store rentals, I need to cough up another $7 per month, a 38.9% increase in price for the same benefits! Although it's possible that I deleted their e-mail as spam, I have not seen anything about this and only found out about it because a store employee told me.

Well, you might say, you're basically back to what you had, the one in-store rental per week. True. I was pretty happy with the one per week. The point is, the reason they hit their 200,000 subscribers is because of Total Access. Now they are saying that if you want to keep the reason you signed up, cough up more money. While not technically bait-and-switch, it feels similar.

Okay, well, there are other plans. What about getting less DVDs at a time and still getting unlimited through the store? Well, I could drop to 2 DVDs at a time, but to get unlimited in-store rentals it would still cost me $21.99 per month.

Blockbuster attempts to answer this by saying, "We are now offering a full range of subscription options so that our customers can more easily find a plan that meets their specific needs, whether that means a basic online-only service without any in-store exchange privileges or a premium plan that includes unlimited in-store exchanges. Our new line-up of plans allow subscribers to get the right number of movies for their needs. Current subscribers are welcome to change their plan at any time by going to My Account."

Now that I'm done my rant, I've looked and found that apparently Blockbuster lost $35.3 million in the second quarter and that this is the reason they are limiting the Total Access program.

It will be interesting to see if Blockbuster has shot themselves in the foot. They've angered / are going to anger quite a lot of people (even if they don't normally rent more than five per month). Also, for $16.99, I can get the same three movies at a time from Netflix with 17 hours of streamed video. Assuming I rented only 3 hour movies from Blockbuster, Netflix would still be a dollar less for 2 more hours of video. The only downside to the streaming video at Netflix is that you need Windows XP or Vista.

Simpsons-ese enters Scientific Parlance

In the episode "Lisa the Iconoclast", the following exchange happens.

Jebediah: [on film] A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.
Edna: Embiggens? I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield
Ms. Hoover: I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word.

This little exchange makes fun of the ease with which small communities invent their own lingo. Well, in a sign of the cultural power of the Simpsons, "embiggens" has appeared in a recent Physics paper and the author appears to be happy it is drawing some attention.

Gas under $3!

Gas under $3!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.