Richard Simmons on Who's Line

One of the funniest things I've ever seen. You have to check this out.

Criss Angel

It's the old "Watch me cut a quarter out of my arm" trick. If I've seen it once, I've seen it a thousand times. This guy rips off all his stuff from Bullwinkle. It's sad really.

What Do You Mean No

If you are going to propose in front of tens of thousands of fans, you better be damn sure that she will say yes!!

Hilarious prank call ever: Fired

Just wait for the end of this one. I would've loved to hear them let her down and her reaction. "Boss calls employees wife to explain why he fired her husband: "...we found your husband on top of his desk making love with secretary..." - oh G, this woman is so angry! This is the funniest prank call I ever heard!"

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Humans, the stupidest species on Earth!

When I first read this title, I immediately disagreed. But the video makes a great argument for it's case.

New Picasa 2.5

I've used Picasa ever since it first came out. A new version of Picasa has been released and it enables you to create a web album and automatically share photos. I had to play around and test it, so I created an album from the fishing trip we took the kids on recently:

Fishing at Findley Lake

Aug 12, 2006 - 22 Photos

Here It Goes Again

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

What an awesome idea for a video. It doesn't stop there, I think we may have our next big exercise video fad as well.

Fantasy Football

You've asked for it, so here you go:

You have been invited to join mgrace74's Custom League in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football.

In order to join the league, follow the link above or go to game front page, click the "Sign Up Now" or "Get Another Team" button and follow the links to "Join a Custom League". When prompted, enter the League ID.. and password below.

League ID..: 625043
Password: thepassword

We will send you a confirmation with further details once you have completed the registration process.

--Fantasy Football Commissioner
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1

Social Networking After Death

It's been so long since I've posted anything, that some may have thought I passed on. No, I don't mean it that way, I meant passed on to myspace. Ok, I'll admit I did create a myspace account, but what would happen to it if I really did pass on? Of course there is a study about it.
Social Networking After Death:

Back when the social networking craze was first taking off, we wondered what it would mean when people died. What would happen to your profile after you passed on. With the success of MySpace, apparently it's becoming a bigger issue. Ben Silver writes in …

Bike Thief

Who said stealing a bike wasn't easy? It is if you in NYC.

The Flintsones Cigerette Commercial

It turns out that Fred and Barney smoked Winstons. People forget that the Flintstones where originally geared for adults, and debuted in prime-time.



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Natural Hallucination

I promise this is not one of those silly, jump out at you scare movies. Just watch the center closey and look away when it says to.

Filed in:

• Video

Online Poker Blogger Tournament

If your a blogger, like me, and you love Texas Hold'em, like me, than you'll definitely want to check this out. I have a chance to play in Vegas at the WSOP just because I'm a blogger. I feel special.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 5898616

2 out of 3 Aint Bad....usually

Normally, 2 out of 3 would make for a pretty decent living, at least for an athlete. A quarterback who completes 2 out of 3 passes is considered decent. A point guard that can hit 2 out of every 3 jump shots is an All-Star. Hell, even approach getting 2 hits in every 3 at bats in baseball and you'd be the greatest ever. But sometimes, 2 out of 3 just ain't good enough, yes I said ain't. I've grown so annoyed that I'm using contractions that don't exist.

When it comes to your 3 cats using your new cat door to go to the basement and poop in the litter boxes versus, say, one of them pooping in a planted palm tree for instance, just hypothetically of course, 2 out of 3 does not cut it. Not by a long shot. Somehow I don't think Meatloaf had this situation in mind when he wrote his ballad.

Filed in:

• Pets
• UncommonlySenseless

Study: Drinking daily can bring health benefits -- for men

Now here's a study I can really sink my teeth into...or at least my liver.

Drinking reduces the risk of heart disease but the beneficial effects seem to work differently in men and women. They found that for men drinking daily seems to have the biggest positive effect on health while in women the amount of alcohol consumed may have more of an impact.

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Every Adult, Child In Town May Become Millionaires

Here's another reason to live in the middle of nowhere. Wait did I say another? This is really the only reason I have heard of to date, so I guess the use of the word another is completely and totally baseless. Either way, here's one reason to live in the middle of nowhere:

Every Adult, Child In Town May Become Millionaires:

One of the biggest jackpots in Nevada may not be a casino.
Residents of Boulder City could vote on a plan to make every man, woman and child there a millionaire.
An initiative that could be on the November ballot calls for the city to sell 167 square miles of undeveloped open land in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. The property is about 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
The ballot measure would require the city to distribute the billions to the 15,000 residents of Boulder City.
But it's too late to move there. Only people who lived in Boulder City as of March 31 would qualify.
However, residents shouldn't start counting their millions just yet. City officials said they intend to fight the forced land sale initiative in court.

They tell us this now? The had to wait to report about this until now? Although I could only imagine what kind of madhouse the area would have been had this news broke before March 31. In fact, real estate could have made a handy profit from a story done prior to the deadline.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• News
• Humor

Free iTunes song with box of cereal

Two of my favorite things in this world would have to be cereal, because you can eat it at all three meals each day, and iTunes music. Now they tell me I can get iTunes songs by buying cereal? I think I just found a reason to eat that cereal four times a day.

General MIlls is giving away a free iTunes song in boxes of popular, sugar encrusted, carb-laden cereal. Milk optional.

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Creative Ramen Noodles

And you thought it only took 2 minutes to make Ramen.


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Video of high-tech Honda Civic hatchback

Video from 5th gear of the futuristic high-tech Honda Civic hatchback that the U.S.A can't buy. But man I can't wait for it to come out here:


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Lower Firefox's Ram Usage With This Simple Hack

Finally, the only thing I didn't like about using firefox is that it's a bit of a memory hog, but I can work around that now.

This Firefox 'hack' brings the ram usage to less than 10MB whenever you minimize Firefox. IE7 and Opera both have this implemented by default and so should Firefox. This is a great way to help with the memory leaks.

read more | digg story

Creativity

As a parent, I am constantly finding average household items used in different capacities than they were originally intended for. theMiddleChild is usually to blame, as his creativity pushes boundaries that mine never did. There is a fine line I walk every day to not step on and smother his creativity, but at the same time, not allow him to just take things at will.
This person's parents probably walked the same line everyday with their child.

Filed in:

• Kids
• Humor
• Video

Neighborhood Hibernation

The party went off last night, without a hitch. There were varying opinions of the wine. It seemed like, to me at least, that our neighbors who responded to us, implying that they drank wine, liked the wine. The neighbors that implied a distaste for wine, didn't like the wine. Go figure.

The wine was nice, but what was even nicer was seeing all of our neighbors and socializing, with some for the first time. We have all been on our street since winter started last year, and we had neighbors introducing themselves to other neighbors for the first time in our great room.

See, we moved in first, last summer. After us, a couple of neighbors moved in in fall, but the rest have moved in after winter hit. What we've found out happens here, that didn't in Cauliflower is people hibernate in winter. With no reason to go out and work in the yard, everyone stays inside their homes all winter long.

Spring is hesitantly setting in around Cleveland, which is to say that it was 70 degrees two Fridays ago, and snowed last week, so our neighbors will start to pop their heads out of their houses more often, as will we. As long as noone sees their shadows, we should have a pretty fun neighborhood this spring and summer.

Filed in:

• Family
• Friends
• Wine
• Business
• SOHO
• Neighbors

First Show Tonight

theWife has her first show as a Wine Consultant tonight. She invited all of our neighbors, who have been hibernating all winter, and most of them are coming. We, of course, have spent the past couple of weeks tasting each of the wines that she will be presenting tonight. I know tonight's guests will be not be disappointed. Not one bit.

I have been very impressed with almost every wine I have tasted from her company and the one wine I did not care for was probably my fault and not the wine's. You see, I had eaten pizza that day for lunch, which made my stomach upset, and had just finished chewing a piece of gum before tasting. Anyone who has been wine tasting before will tell you that two things don't mix well with the wine, greasy foods and mint flavored gum. I managed to get both of them in there. That could have been the best bottle of bordeaux imaginable and I would not have liked it.

The wine in question will get it's chance at redemption at tonight's tasting, however. I am interested to see how theWife's guests (read neighbors) will like the wines and generally excited all around about the event. If only I didn't have to go to work today first. Oh well, duty calls.

Filed in:

• Family
• Business
• Wine

It's the new "Angry Letter"

theElderSon and I were having a discussion last night. At the moment I can not remember what it was about, but what we were discussing is not important at the moment. What is important is that a discovery was made by yours truly. A discovery so important that everyone who reads this post should consider themselves lucky that they are among a small percentage of human beings who now have the knowledge that I am about to impart upon you.

Blogging is the new "Angry Letter".

As I stated theElderSon, who's sense of sarcastic humor is getting more and more refined every day, were discussing some sort of "this company did this" event. Our conversation went something along the lines of this:

tES: Did you hear about {companyX}? They're {insert evil action}.
Me: Really? that's really bad, they shouldn't be able to do something like that.
tES: Yeah, but it's not like anyone can do anything about it.
Me: Wanna bet?
tES: {sarcastically} Yeah, we can write an angry letter.
Me: Nope, we can blog about it.
tES: Blinks, eyes open wide in mock fear and shock.

So just remember, having a blog is having the ability to write an agry letter that will actually be read. Sure maybe not by companyX, but at least people will comment and you'll feel better about yourself for having bashed companyX. That reminds me, I've got some angry letters posts to write to about Vonage and Dell. Consider them on notice.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• Humor
• Blog

Cat Vs Dog Part 2

Just in case any of you were curious, thePrincess, otherwise known as the only female cat in the house, does not like theDog.

Any questions?

Filed in:

• Pets
• Humor
• HomeMovie

Stupid Girls

Yesterday, I boasted about theDaughter wanting to focus on her career before boys. theWife and I keep pounding into her head that she is going to be so much more that just some eyetoy for boys. I wish more parents would teach their daughters that, but no. There's so many celebrities, read Paris, who act like that's all girls are good for. Throw in half the dang videos I see on MTV, and one would start to believe that women are only good for one thing. Pink, theWife made me listen to it, shutup, has a song out about these stupid girls that, although I may not like the song as a song, it's message is great. Pink says "What happened to the dreams of a girl president, She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent". Not my daughter.

Hell, now you have Sharon Stone giving advice, and I use the term loosely, to a young girl she met in a store that "oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex." She goes on to say "If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer a blow job." What?? Are you kidding me? What happened to no means no. So all a boy has to do is pressure a girl for sex and he'll get oral sex? That sounds like rape to me. Sharon, if your ever in my area and want to give my daughter advice, feel free. I'll sue you for every penny BI2 makes. And when it's all said and done, I'll take my 50 cents and buy a pack of gum.

So where, does this all lead? To this: Sex Acts Alleged On Ohio Bus Full Of Seventh-Graders:

The bus was on its way back from Mount Union College when the game of Truth or Dare allegedly got out of hand for eight children.
Some put their hands down each other's shirts. Then some girls reportedly started flashing passing cars.
Eventually, one child allegedly performed oral sex on another.

The community is asking where the teachers were, but I ask, where were the parents. Why were the boys not being taught that this is inappropriate. Girls are not meant to be treated this way. Why were the girls, especially the last one, not being taught that she is more than just a sex toy. I am absolutely outraged that the parents could hold the teachers responsible. We as parents need to be teaching these children their sense of self-esteem. If we don't, Sharon Stone will.

Oh, and one last thought before I wrap this long post up, before you guys out there disagree with me, and think this behavior is ok from 12 year old girls, think about this. Imagine, that is your daughter on that bus. Guys tend to be so hypocritical, it makes me sick. I heard a bunch of comments on a radio show the other day regarding this that were along the lines of, "where were these girls when I was 12?" I tried calling in, but never made it. I really wanted to know, if all these callers thought it was ok, would they think the same for their own daughters? I doubt it. Hypocrites. Here I thought we evolved from the intelligence level of an animal. I guess not.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• Family
• Kids

Career

I have been internally debating with myself this morning. I have been trying to decide in which format to bring you 3 or 4 posts that are not that related, per se, but segue into one another quite nicely. I could break them up and link to posts as needed, or I could create one longer post with all the material I have swimming through my head presently. The latter would present itself to the reader in a much nicer format. The one main drawback of the one long post debate, is that until everything is down, you, good reader, will enjoy none of it. With that being said, my decision is made. I will seperate my thoughts and try as best I can to break them into seperate posts. Here we go.

On my way home from work yesterday, theWife told me of a little conversation she had just had with theDaughter. She has been seeing a chiropracter for the last month or so, in fact I just started going to him yesterday as well (more on that in a seperate post). As it turns out the chiropracter, let's just start calling him theDoc, has a son who is one year older than theDaughter. theWife was joking around with theDaughter yesterday, telling her about this boy, but theDaughter wanted nothing to do with him. I believe theWife said her words went something like:

theDaughter: I need to work on my career first.

So what does Dad think of his 7 year old today? I could not be more proud. That's my girl.

Filed in:

• OutOfTheMouthsOfBabes

theWife's new Gig

Rarely, in life, does a person get a chance to go to work and do something that said person truely enjoys. It happens so infrequently, that when it does it needs to be applauded. theWife has just found herself in that position, and because she has, at least for the past weekend, I did too.

theWife has become a Personal Wine Consultant and offers Free Wine Tastings at Homes. She gets to set up and attend wine tastings for a living. Better yet, she's one of only a handful in the whole state, due to the fact that Ohio just lifted certain restrictions on the importing of wine. If you live in the Cleveland area, and like wine, you should definately consider having a tasting in your home.

My part in enjoying what job you do was in building the website. That was my job this past weekend. Let me know what you think.

Filed in:

• Family
• Job

4th Amendment Shipping Tape

When I first read this story, I thought "Wow, people need to stop whining about lost liberties, because times like these require extra protection". 4th Amendment Shipping Tape:

You can put this shipping tape on your packages and your airplane luggage. Every time I fly, my luggage gets a card in it telling me how “for my protection” they have searched it.

Now, when they open my luggage, they will have to literally slice the 4th amendment in half in order to do this.

Then I started to really think about my first impression of the story. What exactly is "extra protection"? Does it mean government has the right to take away liberties given to me as a citizen of the United States by the Constitution? I don't know if I'm OK with that. I definitely should not be, but this persistent thought continues to burrow through my head...they blew up buildings and killed thousands of Americans with hijacked airplanes.

It is fear of the worst that allows us to accept lost liberties. But as time distances our memories from the event itself, we start to question the means and methods being used to protect us from a similar occurence. Movies are made that assign blame for the lack of action taken before 9/11, but the actions needed are also not wanted.

For my part, I think like most Americans, I'm on the fence. I get upset at times, about losing my Constitutional rights, but once I sit back and think about it, my view changes. I will probably read something tomorrow that will swing my thinking in the other direction. Even as I type this, I am having a very difficult time writing "for now I give up my rights for peace of mind".

I start to think, where will it end. If I give up one or two rights, how many more will be taken away. This is where I always end up. My brain gets filled with the opposites sides of the argument, and shuts down. This post then will follow suit, and now....shut....down.

Filed in:

• Rant
• Politics
• Constitution
• Terrorism

Funniest Commercial Ever

First things first, I must tell you, paying for things with your cell phone is just cool. Getting $5.00 for signing up isn't bad either.

Ok, with that out of the way, last night theWife and I saw this ad for the first time. I haven't laughed at a commercial as hard as I did at this one in a very long time:

Filed in:

• Video
• Humor

Math Geek Test

See how many patterns you can figure out. I've gotten 3 so far, but I only played with it for a minute. I'll try to come back when I have more time and update how many I can get.

Take the Test | digg story

Filed in:

• Internet
• Test
• Link

How to Enrage Your Owner - A Pet's Guidebook

Enraging your owner is fun to do. Watching the human's face contort into a fit of rage is one of the few truly enjoyable moments of the day. Mornings do work best, especially before the rest of the house wakes up. That way, the owner's rage must be kept in check, and the temper tantrum must be a quiet one. This enrages humans even further.

A good idea is to coordinate your efforts with more than one pet. The human can not focus his anger on just one of you, yet the anger grows and grows, bringing the human to a state of pure fury that is so enjoyable to watch. That's when you can sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

Here is a good way to get the ball rolling in the morning, again, having more than one participant works wonders:

1. Pet 1: Knock over a plant that has a lot of dirt and rock in it, making sure to cause a crash when it hits the floor spilling the rock and dirt everywhere.


2. Pet 2: Try to eat the rock and dirt as the owner is cleaning it up.


3. Pet 2: The owner should still be cleaning up the dirt, and not watching you, go poop in the dining room. Make it a stinky one for effect.


4. Both Pets: Give your owner 5 minutes to calm down, we wouldn't want any pets getting harmed for our enjoyment.


5. Pet 1: Just when your owner has settled down, pick something else to knock over. We recommend your food if it is kept in a place suitable for knock off of. Pretend like you are eating to keep your owner from getting suspicious.


6. Pet 2: While your owner is cleaning up the food and probably cussing under his breath (remember, it's too early for the owner to yell) find something to tear apart. We suggest some sort of beanie animal, the kind that has lots of tiny little beads in it.


7. Pet 2: Bonus...while the owner is cleaning up the remains of that conquest, start tearing something else apart, like your bed. Make sure it makes a ripping sound, again, for effect.

After these steps are completed, sit back and enjoy the wonderful quiet temper tantrum that you have created. Heck, have a good chew on something...you deserve it. If, by chance, either one of you end up in your cage for your efforts, consider your mornings job well done.

Filed in:

• Ranting
• Pets
• Humor

Boy, 12, Sticks Gum on $1.5M Painting - Yahoo! News

Every so often, I read a story that makes me feel better about my own kids:

Boy, 12, Sticks Gum on $1.5M Painting - Yahoo! News:

A 12-year-old visitor to the Detroit Institute of Arts stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting, leaving a stain the size of a quarter, officials say.

The boy was part of a school group from Holly that visited the museum on Friday, officials say. They say he took a piece of Wrigley's Extra Polar Ice gum out of his mouth and stuck it on Helen Frankenthaler's 'The Bay,' an abstract painting from 1963.

The museum acquired the work in 1965 and says it is worth about $1.5 million.

Well, at least it used to be.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• News
• Kids

Darth Vader Prank!

Sometimes, I see priceless ads that are homebrewed and generally not funny.  In fact, most of the priceless ads have lost their humor all together and become something of a bore.  Except this one:

Filed in:

• Video
• Humor
• Links

What would happen if everyone drove the speed limit on highways

A neat trick I would love to try in the Bay Area, California (insert evil laugh)

5 cars line up on the highway and run at the speed limit blocking faster traffic. Chaos ensues.

read more | digg story

Filed in:

• Link
• Video
• Humor

Unfortunately Mike

I just read Unfortunately Pete and had to try Unfortunately Mike:

Unfortunately, Mike keeps so-so records of achievements, so there are several unknown facts, such as what's the highest scoring word he has ever played.

Unfortunately, Mike & Toni will not be able to participate.

Unfortunately, Mike got excited and Big P had to knock him unconscious to calm him down.

Unfortunately, Mike doesn't work for KISS FM. He works for ABC Radio Networks.

Unfortunately, Mike never got to see the final version, sadly, Mike passed away before it was completed.

Filed in:

• Humor
• Link

How Cheney Just Shot a Man

If we as Americans can't laugh at our VP, what the hell can we laugh at.  Huh?

Filed in:

• Video
• Link
• Cheney

Google map hack + cell phone photos + dumpster diving = awesome

{sarcasm}This is the best idea anyone has ever come up with...ever. Now the streets of New York really are lined with people's garbage. I hope this concept gets regionalized like craig's list did, because garbage laying around the streets of Cleveland sounds great to me. Who wouldn't want garbage laying around waiting for someone else to pick up.{/sarcasm}

Only in New York is it a good idea to make every day, garbage day.

This is a great Google map project - when you're out and about in New York City and spot something cool destined for the dump, take a photo with your phone, send a description and an address!!!.

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Another Guy Proving How He Got His iPod from FreePay

Yes, in case you are wondering...and I know you are...you CAN still get a Free iPod.

I came across this guys blog. I know there are few of these already out there but I figured those of you that are still skeptical might wanna check this out.

With only 2 referrals needed, hopefully I can soon be posting my own success story...and you can too.

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Jesus Pancake

It's true. The prophecy has been fulfilled. The second coming of christ has finally come...in the form of a what??

WTF? Can people be anymore gullible and dumb. Do they think this is really Jesus and if so, is this the golden ticket that gets one into heaven? You be the judge.

And for the ultra low price of (insert bid here) Jesus can enter your home, and be eaten for breakfast. Can I get an Amen?

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theDog v theSnow

After a much maligned indian summer, winter finally resumed here in NorthEast Ohio. That means more skiing for us, and more playing for theDog. Did I mention that theDog loves the snow?

Filed in:

• HomeMovie
• Humor
• Pets

Steelers voodoo doll on Ebay

I could see some definite uses for this while rooting for the Browns next season. Maybe I'll put up a $2 bid...

One of the funniest auctions I've seen in a while, particularly: Potential buyers: Steeler fans who want to save him from any more harm, Seahawk fans that need relieve some tension, or any NFL referees who suddenly find themselves with some extra money.

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Riddles, Riddles everywhere...

...and I can't solve any, er most of them. I sure do like trying to though:

1000 cool and interesting riddles. Cool site with easy single click navigation. You never even have to refresh the whole page thanks to AJAX. WARNING: You could lose HOURS on this site!

Example:

I can flutter and take your breath away.
I can take a beating, but do not bruise.
If I stopped you would be sure to lose.
Everyday I am with you.
What am I?

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Find Lowest Airfare via Google Maps

The coolest thing to happen to Google Maps, since...well Google Maps!

FareCompare, a provider of next- generation airfare search technology, announced today the deployment of an airfare search engine on the Google map platform that helps consumers quickly find the cheapest way to reach multiple destinations.

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Look What I Can Do

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had no clue who Stuart from MadTV was. Now I know, and as it turns out, I'm related to him by marriage:

Filed in:

• HomeMovie
• Humor
• Recreation

Cut in Half

Finally, an original magic trick. Ok, so maybe being cut in half has been done, but not like this, I guarantee you that.

Filed in:

• Video
• Humor
• Magic
• Links

Where's the Snow

I remember a time during my youth that this little old lady would look at her burger, remove the top bun and proclaim, "Where's the beef?". I feel much this same way when it comes to the subject of our first Cleveland winter and the snow we've gotten recently. It's been non-existant.

Of course without the presence of snow, skiing becomes very difficult. We did manage to go two weekends ago, but the hill was covered with slush, not snow. We didn't even try last weekend. I am forced to think of better days, when the snow was prevalent, at least on the hill it was, before spring decided to show up here in January.

At least I got a good video of theBrotherInLaw to remind myselft what I'm missing:

Filed in:

• Recreation
• Family
• HomeMovie
• Humor

Million Dollar Homepage, with a Huge Twist/Next Generation of Advertising

Following in the wake of milliondollarhomepage is tough, but that’s why we’ve devised a whole new dream. They're giving away a total of One Million Dollars to the advertisers.
Every time 10,00 ad units are sold, $10,000 will be raffled off to one advertiser.

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Five-year-old gets drunk at Applebee's

Newsflash, I actually watched the news one night this week. theWife and I saw this story:

David Pescovitz: Five-year-old Seth Pereles was sipping what his mother thought was an apple juice at the Applebee's restaurant in Battery Park City, New York. Turns out that apparently he had accidentally been served a Long Island Iced Tea. His mother, Cynthia Pereles, says the restaurant came clean on the mistake but she's suing them for $75,000. From Local 6:

Pereles said she did not realize her son was drinking a concoction of white rum, gin, vodka, triple sec, Coke and sweet-and-sour mix until it was too late. The boy's eyes became glazed and he began to laugh uncontrollably, according to a report.

'When you're looking at your 5-year-old and you're asking him, quiet down Seth, sit still and you see that mentally and physically he cannot comply with what you're asking him to do because he is under the influence,' Pereles said.

I can understand the parents being upset, but come off it already. This one drink will not have any lasting effects or cause the child any mental anguish. I wonder how long it took the mother to be happy that this happened so that she could sue. A couple of minutes maybe.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless

Google Video Adds Download Support

Google Video Adds Download Support. You can now download videos on google video in the Windows/Mac, Video iPod, or Sony PSP format. Isn't that great news. The news doesn't end there either. Google videos can now be embedded into personal websites, such as this site. I like youTube better, because my videos are posted instantly, and other users can comment on them, but having two ways to share is always better than one:

Filed in:

• HomeMovie
• Google
• Video
• Humor

Fake Lottery Tickets-The cruelest joke of all

Can someone please tell me what is the deal with these Fake lottery tickets lately:

Mark Frauenfelder: Site sells fake lottery tickets with hateful putdowns under the scratch-off material: 'Kiss My A**,' 'You Lose S***head,' etc. The ad copy on the site suggests it's a delightful family gag: 'Fool your friends with fake cursing lottery tickets These fake lotto tickets are so funny, they will have you rolling on the floor laughing in tears! Perfect for holiday gifts and family parties!'

I guess they aren't as cruel as the fake tickets that trick the dupe into thinking they've won $25,000.

I enthusiastically agree with that last sentence. I saw this on a recent AFV, and then I argued with theWife and theElderSon about why this is not funny. I have a good sense of humor for many things, but this, in my opinion, is the cruelest kind of prank. Some may argue and say that joking around about someone's death would be worse, but I will disagree.

In the case of the latter, at least you find out good news in the end, while the former presents the "dupe" with a huge letdown. Not only is the target finding out that they are the subject of a joke, but that they really didn't win jack. In my thinking, it would be tantamount to hearing that a sick relative has made an amazing recovery, only to find out they really hadn't. Why is this funny?

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• Lottery

Another Ski Trip

Our weekly passes to Boston Mills and Brandywine have been getting good use. We have not missed a week yet and we're even starting to remember the camera when we go. That being said, I clipped together this video of our day on the hills:

As you can see, we had a great day for it. There was just enough new snow last Friday to make the conditions perfect and the sun even decided to show up for us. The day would have been perfect had it not been for the teens near the end of the day there to irritate us.

There are many times when kids act a certain way and I say to myself, I remember doing that, not this time though. Boarding or skiing up to the front of the long lift line, bypassing everyone standing there is one of the most annoying things I have seen out there on the hills. Especially when it's not just a couple of kids, but 15 or 20 of them doing it. Rest assured that theWife and I did not remain quiet like most of the other adults, and the lift operators did, though it did not do us much good. Most of them simply turned the other way and pretended not to hear us. Frustraing, yes, but at least they were not there the whole day, and we were ready to leave by this point anyway.

Filed in:

• HomeMovie
• Recreation
• Family
• Places

10 Reasons Why Google Pack is Overhyped

Google Pack goes Live, the news can be found everywhere. The whole internet seems to be rejoicing that Google has released this package of software, most of which is free. Great news to be sure, but is it worth all the fuss? Honestly, it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. In fact, if it was Microsoft who released this package, the same users who are hyping Google Pack, would be villifying Microsoft for trying to force software down their throats.

Most of these offerings, a lot of users have already. I looked through the list to see what I needed, and found nothing. With the exception of Google Earth, which I could've picked up any time I have wanted to, I already have all that I want.  Without further ado then, I bring you 10 reasons why Google Pack is overrated and overhyped:

1. Google Pack Screensaver - Windows already comes with this ability, and it works great. Why do I need another screensaver?
2. Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer - You've also packaged Firefox with Google Toolbar into this package, which I already have in the first place, do I need this toolbar? I don't think so. (Doesn't 99% of the online population have this already anyway?)
3. Trillian - The paid mode of this instant messenger is probably the best IM app out there, but the free version is just ok. Doesn't Google have their own IM in development?
4. Google Talk - In the world of IM apps, this little one is featureless and not ready for primetime.
5. RealPlayer - Your kidding right? I've been trying to keep Real Player off my system for years. I've found myself just walking away from links that require it. Unsuspecting downloaders, be ready for all of your media to be taken over by this one.
6. Google Video Player - Google videos providing premium content to pay-per-click is a good idea, but can I only view it with this app? Bad idea. If that's not the case, do I really need another video player on my system?
7. Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition - This is the package breaker. Google has to be kidding right, they're aligning with Norton for the anti-virus option? Norton is only throwing in a 6-month free subscription with this one to boot, then it will be useless unless a license is paid for. Good luck ridding your system once you decide not to continue with Norton too. With good options out there, Grisoft, Avast, why go with Norton?
8. Ad-Aware SE Personal - Decent product, but other spyware programs are needed too. This is not a complete answer to the spyware problem, by any means.
9. Adobe Reader 7 - I haven't seen a computer in awhile that doesn't already come with Adobe Reader and Adobe is already running processes checking for updates of their own software.
10. GalleryPlayer HD Images - No thanks, I have enough of my own pictures taken up enough room on my hard drive as it is.

As I mentioned earlier, if this was Microsoft offering such a package, everyone would be picking it apart.  I have what I want of the package already.  I see no reason, whatsoever, to package this all together.  Thanks, but I'm passing on this one.

Filed in:

• InformationDesk
• Google
• Internet

Advertising...Huh...What is it good for?

A couple of months ago, you may remember reading about the million Dollar Homepage, a site who's goal, as it was obviously stated, was to make a million dollars. The site's owner's plan was to sell advertising one pixel at a time for one dollar a pixel. The purchased pixels were then placed on a large grid on his site for everyone to see and click. Not a bad idea, especially considering that the site reached it owner's goal of earning one million dollars.

What ensued was copy cats building sites that tried to do the same thing, but tweaked the concept one way or another, and as far as I know, none of the copycats have had success. This is usually the way things go isn't it? First to market always hits their goal while every other unoriginal hack flounders around trying to make a living off of another's idea.

Now another site is garnering attention from the tech crowd, OnlyOneAd.com. Instead of pixels, this site has one viewable advertisment posted on it's page every day. The cost of purchasing the ad will double in size until Ad 21, which will cost just over one million dollars. Another very creative idea, but this brings me to my question, or actually, my two-part question.

1. Why do companies advertise on a site like this?
2. Who visits these pages looking for a service?

It seems to me that the only reason these type of sites are garnering traffic is because visitors are interested in the idea of making one million dollars rather easily, not in finding a service that may be advertised there. It's not as if the advertisements are indexed in a manner in which I could find a spyware solution if I went looking for one. I can honestly say that I would never find myself visiting OnlyOneAd on the off chance that that day's ad may contain something I need.

I do believe that these ideas are inventive, but how they make their goals, or any money at all for that matter is beyond me. Maybe that why I haven't come up with my own million dollar idea yet.

Filed in:

• UncommonlySenseless
• Internet

Bloggingly Delicious

Almost 3 years ago, 2 years 354 days to be exact, I started a blog. I hosted the blog at bmgwebdesign.com and called it bloggingly delicious. Over the years, it grew. It started as a blogger blog, but soon I moved to using Movable Type for it's added features. Then I changed yet again to Wordpress for it's ease of use and still more features.

Disaster struck then and left me without my domain. Last summer I lost the ability to sign into my wordpress, because I could not renew my domain, and therefore 2 and a half years worth of blogging history were gone. I was also without my own domain for the first time since I had started this blog.

At this point of frustration, I wanted to continue blogging, but just barely. I definately knew that I did not want my own domain anymore...too much pain and hassle. There was only one choice, blogger.

Like I said, though, it would have to be a brand new start because all of my history was gone. Gone, that is, until I found out that most of it was cached in the internet archive, January of 2003 to August of 2004 to be exact. I began the posting each post from that time frame one by one.

As I finished up posting every message, I again realized one of the drawbacks of using blogger versus MT or Wordpress...catagories. In MT or Wordpress I could catagorize every post, making it easy for a reader to browse through and find posts he or she is interested in. I gave up that niceness, however, when I decided to not blog from my own domain, however.

I didn't have to give it up for very long, though. I soon found myself reading an article that instructed me on how to use del.icio.us to catagorize all of my posts again. All I had to do then is catagorize every post I had just reposted to this blog. No problem. Take notice that at the bottom of every post are the links to browse the rest of the posts in the listed catagories.

Another feature I had while using MT or Wordpress was the ability to post interesting links in my sidebar quickly and easily. Once again, it's not easy to do in blogger. I tried using SideBlog, but it turned out to be another interface completely and rather a pain to maintain. Again del.icio.us was there to provide for me. You'll now find that I have links and news in the sidebar. They are updated more often than I blog, so keep an eye over there if you like interesting links, or simply subscribe to the rss for each channel.

Even though this blog has sported the title before, with the help of del.icio.us, I can now truely say that my blog is bloggingly del.icio.us.

Filed in:

• Blog
• AboutMe
• Delicious

Frustrating Morning

I had a post for you this morning, and it was not about frustrating. I was drafting it in my head as I woke up this morning. It was going to be about the fact that in a couple of weeks, my blog will turn three years old, and that while alot of things have changed, alot of things have stayed the same.That post will have to wait for another day. My morning can be summed up by what theDog has been doing this morning. So let me tell you of his morning instead:

• Be let outside, Go potty
• Bark to come inside
• Try to get mud on as much of floor as possible before owner wipes feet
• Find water spilled on floor by the cats to step in to track mud all over the floor anyway
• Get caught pooping in living room
• Go outside but do not finish
• Inside, feet wiped, finish pooping in Great Room
• Outside, run around and bark
• Inside, feet wiped
• Chew on cat
• Disregard bone
• Chew on other cat
• Disregard bone
• Chew on glue stick
• Disregard bone
• Chew on rabbit's cage
• Try to chew on rabbit

This is the day I picked to start my quit campaign? Oh boy...

Filed in:

• Ranting
• Pets
• QuitJournal

Price Matching - Best Buy vs. Amazon

There have been stories going around the internet this holiday season, like this one, posted at digg.com/deals/Best_Buy... , or this one. I read both of these horror stories in the last couple of days. I was well prepared walking into Best Buy yesterday and turned out pleasantly surprised. Allow me to explain.

I bought theWife a Bluetooth headset for Christmas this year. I found a good price for it on Amazon.com and then, after reading all the news about Amazon.com's price-drop policy, and then finding the price-drop tracking website, I got a refund for $9 a couple days after Christmas.

theWife loved her gift, I got some money back on top of the good deal I got, every thing turned out great. Then theWife said it was time to get me one as well. I had received a gift card from Best Buy from theBroInLaw for Christmas, so I thought what better way to spend it, or part of it, on this for me. However, when I walked into Best Buy I was met with a bit of sticker shock. The cost of the same headset was double what I paid for it on amazon.com. I simply walked away, saving my gift card for another day.

I did not even think of asking them if they would price match, but by the time I had read all the bad publicity Best Buy had been receiving, I figured I would give them a shot and at least ask. The associate I spoke with, of course, had to ask his supervisor. The supervisor fleetingly nodded and said they had price matched amazon.com before and told his associate to look up the price of the headset online.

I thought his eyes would pop out and hit the monitor when the results of his search came up showing a price of half of what Best Buy carried it for, but his supervisor had already told him to go ahead with the price match. I tried reassuring him that I was not trying to scam them by informing him that I would rather purchase the item from Best Buy, but how could I with a price difference like this. Here is where the catch was found, however.

Amazon.com happened to be out of stock. I was informed that since Amazon.com was out of stock, they could not price match the item for me. Since they were in such a giving mood, though, I was not ready to give up just yet. I asked another simple question. How about another model?

I raced back over to the display case and found another suitable headset, this one, the HS820, was $20 more that the H500 and again the associate was taking a very long time looking it up. theWife called home, where theElderSon was, and asked him to look up the price and stock availabilty for us. In 30 seconds theElderSon told us what theAssociate could not in 5 minutes. The price was $60 cheaper on Amazon.com, and most importantly, it was in stock.

theAssociate finally printed off the Amazon.com product page, went to talk with another supervisor, came back and politely informed me that they do not usually do this, but they were making an exception because I had told they have in the past. He wrote up the order, I paid and walked out of Best Buy with the Motorola HS820 headset for less than half of what Best Buy sells it for.

I currently, for the moment at least, am a satisfied Best Buy customer.

Filed in:

• Shopping
• Deals
• InformationDesk
• Amazon
• BestBuy