Ho Ho Ho Hat

Flickr has an easter egg (or is it stocking stuffer this time of year) that's fun. If you add a note to a photo and type in "ho ho ho hat" or "ho ho ho beard" it will add a Santa hat and beard to a photo. Start having fun tagging those interwebs.

Opening Weekend #31

In this week's episode Garrett and I discuss the good and the bad of the Seven Pounds trailer, what the heck rats have to do with weather in the Tale of Despereaux, and whether Jim Carrey has the curse of Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy.

Opening Weekend

When Did Mike Tyson get HUGE?!

I think I could finally beat him in Punch Out now.

Top 20 Mugshots of the Year

With all the "Top..." lists out there right now, this has to be one of my favorites. The Smoking gun has posted their top 20 mugshots of the year. Below is my fave.

What a Moran

That's My Bush

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

So my fiance and I recently went on a cruise of the eastern Caribbean. You can check out the photos here, here, here, here, and here. I wanted to give all of my blog followers a little gift though. Below is a landscape photo that my buddy Garrett stitched together from four photos I took. I know, you're jealous.

The Joker's Oscar Message

Opening Weekend #29

This week Garrett and I aren't too happy with the movies coming out and don't understand how/why Punisher: War Zone was even created.

Opening Weekend

Just When I Finally Thought I was Over Video Games

Looks like I won't be doing anything the month of June

It's All About The Timing

Great photo set to have a laugh at.

Audiotorium

Very cool webgame game that will suck up most of your time

Opening Weekend Episode 27

This week Garrett and I debate on whether the "vampires" in Twilight are truly vampires, as well as the return of Animaniacs. Check it out!

Opening Weekend

Losing a Pet Can Be Traumatizing

Losing two must make you go bat shiat crazy!

Opening Weekend #25

This week Garrett and I come back from a frighteningly slow Halloween weekend hoping that Bernie Mac, energy drinks, and a stupid dance song can revive the weekend. Check it out!

Opening Weekend

Real Change We Can Believe In

Great read from Radley Balko of Reason on how the Republicrats and Demicans are making it more and more difficult for a third party to have any chance in government. This part really blew my mind about Libertarian candidate Bob Barr not appearing on the Texas ballot:

Meanwhile, in Texas, the tables were turned. Both the Republican and Democratic parties somehow missed that state's deadline to include Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the Texas ballot. Barr's campaign sued, noting the equal protection problems with allowing the two major parties to skirt campaign rules while holding third party candidates to the letter of the law. Barr was right—Obama and McCain should have been kept off the Texas ballot. But Barr's suit was dismissed by the Texas Supreme Court without comment. Apparently, the Democratic and Republican parties are, to borrow a now-tired phrase, "too big to fail." They're allowed to break the rules.

Also, don't get me started on Prop 8.

Opening Weekend Episode 24

This week Garrett and I battle it out over whether Halloween can possibly help the horrible Haunting of Molly Hartley and if the trend of Kevin Smith movies doing poor in the box office will change.

Opening Weekend

ChaCha?

You should've seen their response to my question about taste buds

So Long DVD

I have a Netflix account, I will soon purchase an Xbox 360, and my use of DVD player will be only as a foot rest.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/29/hd-netflix-streaming-comes-to-xbox-360-first

Opening Weekend #23

Posting this a little bit late. Now you can see the actual results and compare LIVE while you listen! This week Garrett and I discuss Jigsaw puzzles (the bad kind), cops (the bad kind), and high school musicals (the baddest kind). Check it out!

Opening Weekend

Best Policital Debate Yet

I'll choose my vote on who crumps the best


http://view.break.com/592648 - Watch more free videos

One of the Main Reasons I want to have Kids

So I can dress them up in awesome Halloween costumes

Scarier Than All 5 Saw Movies Put Together

In honor of Halloween

Because There Aren't Enough People in Jail Already

An 83-year-old woman may soon go to jail because a bedroom in her house is "supposed" to be a garage.

"It's traumatic. It's like tearing my house down," she said. "I bought this place 30 years ago, and it was always a bedroom. And now they are trying to shove this down my throat."

City building and safety director Tom Hartung said that an illegally converted garage poses health and safety risks but that going to court is a last resort.

"To say we should not enforce the ordinances based on the demographics of the owner of the property is unrealistic," he said. "We can't do that."

Hartung said that in his 25-year career, he's seen only one person jailed over a violation.

So there was no problem for the past 30 years, but somehow a concern has risen in 18 months that the house will fall on her or her neighbors? And why "can't" they "do that"? You didn't enforce it for 30 years and none of her neighbors have complained, is it really necessary to enforce her to change or face jail?

Her troubles began when a code enforcement officer spotted a light shining from her garage into the street, a code violation. He noticed her trash cans in front of the house (another violation) and weeds poking through the concrete (yet another one).

Again, no complaints from neighbors but a nosy code enforcement officer. Officer? Really? Is that part of the job title to make sure no one questions you without getting arrested? Are trash cans and weeds more a problem than let's say meth use and armed robbery? Do we really need to focus on these items?

"I never had a garage," said Camargo, who parks in the driveway. "I don't need one or want one."

Too bad! You're going to make one for your home and love it! Or go to jail! This really does sound like they're doing this for her best interests.

What does the city gain from this? No one has complained about the house, there are no threats of depreciating value, and it's stood fine for 30 years. Is a survivor of breast cancer and brain surgery needed to have this financial pressure put upon her?

Why the Intertubes Could Really Help or Destroy SNL

So one of the big stories for Monday was Sarah Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live. I overheard on TWIT that her skit was actually posted online before it even aired in the west coast. With NBC posting SNL on Hulu and NBC.com, this could either save the show or lead it to it's downfall.

Scenario 1: SNL becomes one of the best shows on television.

SNL is a sketch show. You don't need to watch one episode to the next to understand what's going on, hell you don't have to watch an entire episode. And most people don't. If you've noticed, the news isn't talking about any other skit from this weekend's show. I can also vouch that if it weren't for the few Macgruber skits, it may have been some of the worst television in a long time. How can Hulu or NBC.com help this? Simple. Because SNL is skit based, they could record the number of hits certain skits receive and the most watched, higest rated, and most emailed would easily tell them what are the "best". This would allow them to keep the writers of those skits on staff, the actors in those scenes, and focus on the type of material that works. SNL has a better edge over other shows in that it would be difficult to tell from an episode of Lost of House which scene works or what dialog grabs a viewer's attention as they're whole 30-60 minute episodes.

Scenario 2: SNL has two more seasons and then no more

The problem that could occur is that SNL, NBC, and GE realize that only one or two skits a show are being viewed online or emailed. This would then cause them to question whether to keep a staff of writers and actors for a show that hardly anyone watches live and only a handfull of scenes are viewed online. This would lead SNL to become a YouTube member that people could subscribe to. Funny or Die and Ask Uncle Jay have perfected this by releasing material they know works, in small amounts, to a very large viewership. Lost and House wouldn't have these issues as they contain stories that overlap from episode to episode and require a constant viewership.

I hope scenario 1 pans out as SNL is one of the longest running shows on television for a reason and one of the main reasons I went into comedy. If Lorne Michaels accepts this new digital age and realizes the power of social media, we could see some the best comedy in a long time.

Opening Weekend #22

In this week's episode Garrett and I discuss Sex, Bees, W, and Payne. Sounds like my therapy sessions. Check it out!

Opening Weekend

Ouch, Again

Why I obey all signs

Ouch

This is why I run away from fights

18th Century Humor

One of the pleasures I see when coming home from work is passing The Onion newspaper dispenser right by my place. Today's was like finding that old MVP baseball card. The Onion has decided to run a special edition from the archives of their 1700s. Check it out here

Opening Weekend Episode 21

We're old enough to drink now! We celebrate by debating on who's better for Meg Ryan: Russell Crowe or Dennis Quaid. Check it out here

I Choo-Choo-Choose Him!

Here's who's getting my vote for this election!

Rescue is the new Bailout

List of Senators that voted against the bailout rescue:

Allard (R)
Barasso (R)
Brownback (R)
Bunning (R)
Cantwell (D)
Cochran (R)
Crapo (R)
DeMint (R)
Dole (R)
Dorgan (D)
Enzi (R)
Feingold (D)
Inhofe (R)
Johnson (D)
Landrieu (D)
Nelson (FL) (D)
Roberts (R)
Sanders (I)
Sessions (R)
Shelby (R)
Stabenow (D)
Tester (D)
Vitter (R)
Wicker (R)
Wyden (D)

Politics Brings Out the Best In Us

Two status I observed from my friends on Facebook:

Obama is a BITCH...if your support him your a BITCH too

If you support Sarah Palin, you should be murdered in front of your children. Let me be clear: You. Should Be Murdered. In Front Of Your Children.

I'm Sure It's Not How It Seems

So these t-shirts were passed out to local police in Denver during the DNC.

Old Skool Beat Boxing

"That Felt SO Good"

Usually I'm the one being laughed at in the gym...

Look Who Said "Terror" More

Very interesting info graphic.

Bloxorz

An awesome addicting webgame in which you move a giant block from one area of a maze to the next.

In Rememberance

I didn't plan on writing anything about 9/11 today. I didn't know anyone in the towers, I only have a couple friends from New York state, and I was in small town Jackson, MI when it happened. But when I saw this picture today on NASA's website, it brought back crazy feelings.

I recall being in high school Government class and the instructor talking about how everyone in his generation recalls two events (depending on how old they were): 1. the moon landing and 2. JFK's assassination. I wondered if anything would happen to my generation. My parents, both fairly young, had no recollection of those two events and never talked about an important part of history except perhaps the Challenger explosion. Well, now I'm one of those people that'll have a moment in life I'll never forget where I was.

I had been driving to a city college I was attending right out of high school to save money for a transfer to a larger school. In my small town, and in many small towns, Bob and Tom had a popular radio show. I was listening in on that day and recall in the middle of an interview with some comedian Bob said a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers and as they received more info they would tell us. At the time I didn't think it was a commercial airplane. His tone made it sound like a plane carrying 5-10 passengers. This may be due to the fact that they had as little knowledge of the incident as the rest of us. As the show went on, just before I got to the parking lot, they mentioned that another plane had crashed. I turned off the radio, parked the car, and walked straight to the college cafeteria. There was a group of 12 or so people all just sitting and watching the TV in shock. I honestly felt the way it looks in movies: there's some national tragedy and everyone is silent just staring at the television. I don't recall any conversations besides the utterances of "My God" or "Wow" and many of us just standing and waiting. Waiting for something to happen or someone to tell us what the hell was going on.

None of us went to class and a few more people came in and watched the television. I remember sitting there with people I never thought I would be next to: an older, hispanic woman who was one of the cafeteria workers, a 50-year-old man who had decided to go back to school after serving this country and working for many years, and a young man around my age who had recently just enrolled in the National Reserve. We didn't talk much, that was until the third plane hit the Pentagon. This caused many people to panic and others to pray. I myself was just in shock and called my parents.

I don't recall too much after that except going home to watch the news for the most hours I have ever in my life...total. It was a scary time in which I could honestly say I had no idea what was going on in the world. My heart goes out to all the families that lost someone on that day and may we learn from this event that life can be short and to truly appreciate what one has. I know I did that day.

See?! It's Good that Bush is in the White House.

Hilarious!


Economists Warn Anti-Bush Merchandise Market Close To Collapse

I Need to Know Now!

What did Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightly do?!

ICYMI: Keira Knightley Bleeped on Regis @ Yahoo! Video

What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?

This is why I love America.

Is This Legal?

The very little I know about football is that you can't actually shoot people on the field. Well, I just saw this video online and it seems like an obvious no-no but damn is it smart. What say you?



Awesome Football Trick Play - Watch more free videos

Some Fun Facts

45: number of months Sarah Palin has been pregnant
20: number of months Sarah Palin has been governor

9,000: population of Wasilla, AK the town of which Palin was mayor
15,000: the number of people at the rally announcing her nomination as VP

7: number of people in the Palin family
7: number of houses John and Cindy McCain own

72: years that John McCain has been alive
49: years that Alaska has been a state

1: number of times McCain and Palin had met before today
20 million: the number of dollars that the city of Wasilla was left in
debt when Palin's term as mayor ended

When John McCain started his campaign, Sarah Palin was not yet governor of Alaska.

Just as Greasy as Us, eh?

Growing up in Michigan, it was tradition that when immature boys and girls became mature 19-year-olds we took a one hour migration past the Motown City, under Lake St. Clare, and into the wonderful land of Canada. Besides the great beer, mounties, and hilarious people to come from the Red, White, and Never Blue there's been one thing I had yet to try: poutine. It's the most American sounding thing they have in Canada. A bunch of fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. Well last night at The Gage I was finally able to cross this off my Canadian Bucket List and add a few more points to Canada's love meter. It was amazing to say the least. The Gage dressed them up a little with nicer cheese and elk ragu...that's right, elk. I strongly suggest trying some when you have the chance.

Don't Let the Door Bang You on the Ass

Jay Mariotti was the head sports writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. He recently retired from the paper, via an email, and said on television that the newspaper was dead. Well Roger Ebert wasn't so pleased and has a few words for the man. He also includes this amazing photo:

Look at that mullet!

Group Dinner 2: Asian Boogaloo

So my girlfriend and I have gotten together with her cousin and his girlfriend once before and attempted to cook a meal. I didn't take photos the first time because I was scared it would end up with a bunch of burnt food and the final being a group shot of us around a bucket of KFC. Well it went amazing and we decided to meet up again. This time we also choose a theme of Asian food. Andrea and I decided to do an appetizer and dessert, while her cousin Andy and his girlfriend Kristin made the main entrees. It went amazing and you can see all the photos here.

See Films Differently

Volkswagen has been a proud supporter of independent film for some time and they have a great series of ads in which people give VERY alternate takes on popular films (Toy Story, Die Hard, Star Wars, etc) that actually make sense. Check them out here.

My Little Ponies I Would've Owned

An artist by the name of Mari Kasurinen has created a set of My Little Pony dolls based around movie characters.

Now I Might Need a Wii

Read more here

Selections from H.P. Lovecraft's brief tenure as a Whitman's Sampler copywriter

A fun read for Friday. An excerpt:

Toffee Nugget

Few men dare ask the question "What is toffee, exactly?" All those who have investigated this substance are now either dead or insane.

I Can't Wait to get this Phone!

It's Not a Glitch, He's Just That Good

Now I Can't Wait for the Bob Sagat Roast

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

My New Favorite Blog

My girlfriend passed along this blog to me. It's all about cakes that are just horrible. So far my favorite is below. How/why was this made?

Another Thing That Will Make Me Shop At McDonald's

Are these also made in China?

Shark Week

So one of my girlfriend's co-workers created this video from footage he shot while scuba diving. Pretty pimp.

The Dark Knight Origins

These kids are cooler than I'll ever be

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Bernie Mac Dead at 50

One of my favorite comedians has died at the age of 50 due to pneumonia complications.

I remember seeing The Original Kings of Comedy in theaters and crying I was laughing so hard when Bernie Mac came out. This performance brought him to the spotlight. Shortly after this he started receiving film roles and soon enough his own show. I enjoyed his show so much I actually wrote a paper on it in college which discussed the roles of fathers in television shows.

Below is one of my favorite scenes from the movie. Most of the language is NSFW.

My Favorite Olympic Moment

I'll always remember seeing this moment on television. I've yet to see anything make me cry like a baby.



PS: Sorry for the Creed music

I Hid in my Garage

Great picture from the Chicago Tornado Scare of 2008

Charlie Lynch Found Guilty

One of the saddest injustices I've seen in a long time has occurred. Charlie Lynch has been found guilty of

distributing marijuana, conspiring to distribute marijuana and providing marijuana to people under the age of 21

I first heard of this story on Reason where I learned that in San Francisco it is legal to sell medicinal marijuana. Mr. Lynch opened a business that sold this marijuana to individuals for medicinal purposes. One of these individuals was Owen Beck, a high schooler that noticed it hurt while running when playing soccer. He went in to have an x-ray and a medium sized tumor was discovered in his leg. After many treatments of chemo and feeling nauseated therefore not eating, his parents suggested to him the use of medical marijuana. They spoke to a doctor, received the prescription, and went and visited Mr. Lynch's office. Because Owen was a minor Charlie Lynch was arrested for distributing.

Just a sad day when a man who is not pushing drugs on the corner but providing it to individuals so that they can eat is now going to jail for a long time.

Make sure to check out the entire video and story at Reason.

Does Not Compute

If you're like me you're constantly calling customer service for major corporations. And if you're like me you hate having to solve the riddle of key commands to speak to an actual human. Well thanks to wonderful world o'intertubes, you can have a Game Genie for these companies.

The website Gethuman.com contains listings of 100s of major corporations and the key combination or secret key words to say in order to get a person right away. You can also see reviews other users have left on their experience with those companies, and you can add as well.

Send a Text Without Using Your Phone

Saw this handy tip on Tekzilla recently. Want to send a text to someone but either your phone has no service, you've gone over your allotment for the month, or just hate using the number pad to find numbers? Well here are the email addresses you can use for the major cell phone providers in the US:

• T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
• Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com,
• Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com
• Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
• Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
• Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

I tested it and it works great.

The Simpsons Found in Nature

Classic Rock Meets Classical Music

John Carpenter's The Thing Re-Shot with G.I. Joes

via It's a Bloggy Blog World

We're Related?!

If you're like me, family reunions can be awkward. It's catching up with relatives that you see once a month/year/cicada hatching. You're not sure if they're into the same music and movies as you so it becomes a chat about weather and jobs. Awesome!

Well I heard about a site called GENi that is free and allows you to create a family tree. I think this is great for two reasons.

1. You can learn! Honestly, it is cool to see where your grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-great grandparents, and not-so-great uncles come from.
2. It allows you to keep track of family members without being creeped out. Here's what I mean. One current way of keeping track of cousins was through Facebook. At first it was fun, but after seeing a photo of my cousin doing a keg stand, and the last memory I have of them was getting a My Little Pony for the holidays at age six, it can be a little shocking.

The other form was through blogging. And you know how bloggers are? Conceited, self-righteous, pretentious, people that think the world revolves around them and everything they say is smart. What jerks.

With GENi, you can post events that are going on in your life that you want family members to know of. You can plan gatherings or trips without the hassle of fighting over the phone, now you can email anger! You can even share photos...of keg stands if that's an achievement in your family.

So check it out and let me know if we're 5th cousins at some point.

Will this work on cars?

Golden Shellback Waterproof Coating from gCaptain.com on Vimeo.

I want to be able to drive underwater!

Join the Revolution

via YTMND

To Pee or Not To Pee

I was reading a piece in the NY Times a couple of days ago that struck near to my, uh, heart. Apparently the city of Seattle is removing all their public toilets.

In the end, the restrooms, installed in early 2004, had become so filthy, so overrun with drug abusers and prostitutes, that although use was free of charge, even some of the city’s most destitute people refused to step inside them.

Living in the City of Big Shoulders, I have asked myself plenty of times why there are no public toilets in this windy city. I first thought it was a way for the city to make money. There are three big colleges, and many smaller ones, located in Chicago proper which equates to a large number of drunk students "celebrating" their "freedom" which leads to public urination which leads to tickets which leads to revenue. I don't think there's a burrito place in the city that doesn't have the stench of PBR laced urine and vomit in the alley next to it. However, I've never seen anyone ticketed and I waited in alleys to watch.

My next thought was that it must be to prevent what is happening in Seattle. These bathrooms became dens of inequity. And why not? The door shuts behind you and no one can see what, or who, you're doing. Essentially they're alleys with privacy.

A simple way to solve this problem is to make this a pay as you go system rather than tax payer supported. As the article states:

$1 million apiece over five years, which because of a local ordinance had to be borne entirely by taxpayers instead of advertisers.

Some stupid law in Seattle made it illegal for advertising agencies to use the toilets to post ads, thus tax payers had to foot the bill. Since the toilets were now "free" anyone could use them, they became disgusting, and the tax payers no longer wanted to pay. This does not mean that citizens don't want public toilets.

In European countries they have public toilets, but they're pay as you go, literally. It costs a certain amount of money to use the toilet which allots to two minutes of time, if you want longer you have to pay more. This would make it more expensive for drug users and prostitutes.

Also, these toilets aren't some carnival-style porta-potty. They look decent and are self-cleaning, which means you don't need to see/smell/feel the last 40 attendees.

So bring on the pay-as-you-go toilets. I think a couple of bucks is worth having alleys that don't reek and not having to purchase an item in a store just to use the bathroom.

Sesame Street and 112th

This is why the internet is amazing




Via Clusterfck

PS: I know this is the second Sesame Street video

Scary Video Tuesday

Apparently these worms live inside other insects and get get as long as one meter!




via Greg

Canadians Rock, eh!

I went and saw heard Feist this past weekend on the lawn at Ravinia. If I missed this on stage, I'll be pissed.

Now if only they had something for my stapler as well

The Lock Cup

Patton Oswalt's Graduation Speech

On June 18th (my birthday!) Patton Oswalt gave a speech at his old high school. Here is the transcript of a funny and touching piece.

Yes, that is the title of the movie

5 Years

Can you believe she's put up with me for this long?! I love her and wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Finally!

Want!

I Don't Write this Blog to Make Friends

It's Called Speedstick!

I guess if you're trying to reach out to the black youth out there, maybe this works.

My Other Car is a Yacht

How can I show the world that I'm rich? A nice sports car? Nah, too many people have those. I know! This will do.

Wakey Wakey

Now this will get you up in the morning. A Taiwanese phone is currently in the design stage that if not turned off will begin to randomly dial people from your cell phone's phonebook. I'm sure they'll make sure you're up at 7:00am if they have to be.

Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?!

USA Today (the one with color graphs) has an interesting piece about scratch off lottery tickets.

Apparently those ones that have a $100,000 jackpot (or higher) may already have a winner claimed but the tickets still remain to be purchased. Their argument is:

The states say the practice is fair because lottery tickets and websites
disclose the practice. Also, other prizes are available.

So even though they're telling your there's a chance of winning a large sum of money on a giant sign by the tickets and on the front of them, the small font on the back and the chance you check the winnings website regularly allows them to keep selling these tickets.

WTF?!

Marketing? Druggies? Aliens? What is this?!

Not so hidden anymore

The Wall Street Journal has a story about what actually is refunded if your flight is cancelled. SPOLIER: It's not the taxes.

The government is "confiscating fees for services not performed," says Mr. Shecter, a personal financial consultant in Nashville, Tenn., and the practice "represents to me a nasty, backdoor method of taking money from our pockets."

And politicians wonder why no one trusts the government.

I Needed Alderman Approval to Post this

A recent op-ed in the Chicago Tribune from Reason editor Radley Balko states that of all major cities in the US, Chicago is the worst for individual freedoms. From the article:

At Reason Magazine, we recently took a look at how the 35 most-populous cities in the United States balance individual freedom with government paternalism. We ranked the cities on how much freedom they afford their residents to indulge in alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, gambling and food. And, for good measure, we also looked at the cities' gun laws, use of traffic and surveillance cameras, and tossed in an "other" category to catch weird laws such as New York's ban on unlicensed dancing, or Chicago's tax on bottled water.

The sad news, Chicagoans, is that your town came in dead last. And it wasn't even close.

So not only am I limited on what I can put on my hot dog, the cost has gone up to?

New Summer X Games Sport

So now swings are hardcore?! I want to laugh but I'm kinda jealous.



via Greg

I wonder what comes up if Dick Trickle wins a race?

HILARIOUS post about a filter used by the American Family Association's news gathering website. Also via Reason.

Celebrate Your Nation's Freedom by Blowing up a Piece of It

Great piece from Reason magazine on what's the big deal with fireworks and the history of how they came to be both used and then pretty much banned.

Just for old time's sake

Schmohawk!

Just caught up with every episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and have to say the last episode of season six blew me away! If you have never seen this show, I strongly suggest you watch it. Almost all sitcoms that have documentary feel to them owe it to Larry David.

Office of Pre-Crime

So I may ruffle some feathers with this post, but when did it become illegal for just being creepy? NBC has agreed to pay the family of a Texas man $100M after he killed himself for almost being on To Catch a Predator. What shocks me the most about this story is that Louis Conradt was actually arrested for what? Saying gross things to someone online? I'll agree that what he did was gross and we shouldn't praise it by any means, but really arrest him? And from reading this article, which I realize is quite short, all I can take from the incident is that Mr. Conradt solicited a "minor" in a chat room but didn't go to the house. Wouldn't this be a sign that he possibly realized what he was doing was wrong? Isn't this what we want these people to realize? Instead, he's put under arrest and sadly takes his own life.

Is the point of his arrest to prevent him from hurting innocent children? Didn't he prevent himself? The idea of pre-crime does not interest me and seeing as he wasn't actually talking to a real child but some set-up by NBC what crime was truly committed?

AC/DC? Really?

Saw this video on my buddy Greg's blog. Pretty fun but still won't make soccer any more popular in the US.

All the li'l birds on Jaybird Steet

So I recently joined Twitter. I was hearing so much about it on TWIT and Tekzilla I felt like a loser for not having joined. So, like I handle any peer pressure situation, I joined as soon as I could. At first I wasn't too impressed. For starters, only two of my friends were "on" twitter and by that I mean they hadn't updated their page for over three months. I felt like the lonely guy at the party who was invited because he works with the hosts but doesn't really talk to them that much. After searching for people I went to grade school with as a last resort, I almost gave up on the site. That was until I realized how great it works for following companies or blogs on a regular basis. Many of my fave sites, mags, and tech-celebs are on there. By following them on Twitter I'm able to keep up on the latest news they've posted or any other notes of interest they have. I can also respond to their posts and have a conversation rather than leave a comment on some site.

I've added Opening Weekend to Twitter now. You'll now be able to see when new episodes and posts are put up. This is really helpful if you don't have an RSS reader or even know what I mean by RSS. I can also see who's following and learn more about the listeners.

So jump on and start tweeting your little heart out! (When is Web 2.0 going to stop with these cutesy webterms?)

Fool Me Once...

Seeing as my last video was a fluke, I'm not sure if I trust this new one either. Apparently its an ad for JC Penney's that was never aired. I think you'll see why. Check out the t-shirt the girl's wearing though.

JC Penny: Speed Dressing
by hourigan

Crouching Ball Hidden Girl

Ball Girl Makes Incredible Catch - Watch more free videos

That explains all the nightmares

Your favorite childhood toys revealed!

Good Night, Good Luck, and Go Blue!

One of my favorite Michigan blogs The M Zone has called it quits. Not only were these guys funny but they knew their football too. I strongly suggest checking out their take on the Appalachain State loss and their many names given to Coash Weiss.

You bring me moose and squirrel!

If you saw the new Indiana Jones movie then you'll love this abridged script. If not, reenact it with friends and you'll have a much better time and save $10.

Where Have All the Tech Girls Gone?

This great article form computerworld.com talks about the decline of women in IT offices across the US based on a study from Harvard.

One of the main reasons given is the treatment of women in these fields by the men they work with. I've always found this to be true and quite confusing. Many of the guys I know in IT are not the most outgoing. They mostly build their own computers which are souped up enough to even brew their own coffee and hardly go out. Computer gaming is fine and all, but once you start talking to these guys about women its some of the most misogynistic stuff I've ever heard. Very few think women are as smart as men and many judge women based on their looks.

Not much else to say about all this except...to the nerdmobile!

I reacted the same way

Bill playing Battletoads

Jedi Mind Tricks

My ears, mind, and heart are now officially blown

Aftershocks?!

Uh oh

So I was really concerned when the first writers strike began. Shows like How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, and The Office were becoming amazing good (almost Arrested Development good). Then the strike came and after seeing shows like American Gladiators and 3rd, 4th, and 19th seasons of Flavor of Love and The Bachleor(ette) arrive I thought the end was near. Was I going to have to read again?! No!!!!

So the strike ended and the shows came back, but I could tell they weren't as strong. And one of my faves, Scrubs, had a horrible season finale and is going to be moved to ABC where I hope it still holds up. This new sign of a strike isn't great, and if you're like me and are tired of seeing people eat bugs on national television to get a shot at love with the star of MySpace (is like the tallest midget?), boycott these horrible shows so their ratings go down and the stations start giving these writers what they need.

Sixty Minutes Dream Team

If CBS truly wants some ratings they should honestly do this

Just Upsetting

It's too late for me to attempt to write up something on this, but I probably will tomorrow.

I'm an Extra!

Haha! Dangly Parts.

Possible New Outkast Single

Saw this video online with the tag "New Outkast single with Raekwon" Not sure if it is but the topics they rap about seem current. It's called Royal Flush. Enjoy.

Oh the places you'll go

One of the guys from my comedy group ComCo at U of M was on the most recent episode of Hell's Kitchen. He's the red head with sideburns. He was also on MTV's Next. I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad.

Just in case you were wondering

ThingsIDidLastNight.com

Doesn't this moron know what a panda is when he sees one?

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

I would ask "What words rhyme with orange?"

The NY Times has a very cool article about some free services to use on your cell phone.

My Hands!

Not sure if this is real or not (he gets star power without lifting the guitar) but I still have a mancrush.

Lovin' LaLa

So I've been a member of LaLa.com for some time now. At first it was a way to swap CDs with other users for only a $1.75 a CD. Within two months I already had 80 new CDs. Well they've just revamped their website and you can now have an online database of songs, buy songs for only 10 cents that will play on lala.com, and for 89 cents download DRM free music. I strongly suggest jumping on board.

I Will Eat Anything For Love

My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks if anyone is interested. These look nice.

Hillary Rodam Clinton Stern

Great piece by The New Republic that explains what would happen if Hillary were in charge of the NBA.

I still wish 'Sheed and the Pistons were in it. Go Lakers!

I'm Starting To Think There Isn't a Bomb Squad in Boston

After the horrible incident with the Cartoon Network signage, we now have a new one.

A 19-year-old MIT student who went to the Logan airport to meet a friend was so excited about the visit she created a shirt with LED lights all over it. The lights were obviously connected to a circuit board. The state troopers of Maine obviously thought this was a bomb and surrounded her with machine guns. She has now apologized for her actions. I'm not sure exactly what those actions are. She exposed the stupidity of the Boston police, AGAIN!

Go DJ!

Since I first heard my first A Tribe Called Quest song I wanted to be a DJ. So this new site Orbz is out and although it's not the greatest thing ever, it sure is fun to pretend. Here's a little jam I created in about five minutes. Imagine if I put some time into it! Click the mute/unmute words to hear it.

Def Leppard Even Sexier!

The Podcast Returns!

So Garrett and I started up the podcast again. Check it out here Same format as Three Men and a Podcast but with one man down. We miss you Andy!