Looks can be deceiving...

This past Wednesday, American Idol finished it's show in Atlanta, GA with an older man performing his own song about the dressing styles of today's children. This man was obviously over the age limit for Idol so you immediately thought that the staff had put him in as a joke, akin to the bright yellow bird-lady of a previous season. So you sat back ready to enjoy the comedy.

His song, "Pants On The Ground", while a message fully supported by my wife and I, was quite funny and was a great close to the show. The judges got into it and the show ended with other contestants singing the tune. Very enjoyable.

This morning, a good friend of mine posted on his Internet radio website ASFRadio.com a bit more information regarding this very interesting man.

The gentleman, Mr. Larry Platt, is 62 years old. His song and performance have become quite viral across the Internet ala William Hung of American Idol fame. But Mr. Platt's fame goes quite a bit deeper than this. Mr. Platt is a civil rights hero who has stood in opposition to injustice with the likes of Dr. King who's life and efforts we celebrate this Monday. Here's a link to more information about Mr. Platt

Not the same crazy guy you thought you saw on Idol, eh?

Too many young and older people take their freedoms for granted these days. Our youth has always had the right to vote, the right to do as they please. Maybe we don't do enough to educate them as to the hardships that our parents, their parents, their parents' parents, etc. have had to endure and the extreme sacrifices that they have made to achieve that which we take for granted.

Kids need to take advantage of all they have and respect what others have had to endure to give them what they enjoy.

Anyway, back to the song. Good for Idol for letting Mr. Platt on to sing his song. Kudos to them. The song is about self-respect. It goes deeper than that when it's this gentleman singing it. It's sad to think that this man feels he has to sing it.

Pull your pants up!!!

I'm always up for a new beer idea!

I don't know about you, but I can't stand that metallic taste I get from drinking beer in a can. I only drink bottled beer or kegs. I have no idea why I don't get the same metallic taste from a keg that I do from a can as its even more metal... maybe the type of metal or some lining in the keg or maybe distributors just take better care of the kegs and keep them cooler... maybe the warming up and cooling in the cans gives it that taste.

Anyway, I know I hate that taste. Let's leave it at that. I care about my beer and its flavor. You know what I hate more? The fact that I can't have my beer in places where I should be able to bring it or find it.

Camping: Yeah, like I go camping. Camping to me is staying at a hotel that has a number in its name. But if I were to ever go camping again (NOT), I can't imagine lugging a six pack or two around in bottles. Try communing with nature, enjoying its tranquil silences while hearing the bottles clinking together all the time. Not good.

Sporting events: I hate paying $6 or more for a beer in a cup that will have half of its contents sloshed to the ground as I clamor back to my seat. $8 for a plastic bottle of what they want to sell me and not what I want to drink. But they don't let you bring your own. Just so they can rip me off some more (Don't get me into parking fees and such).

You get the idea. Bottles and cans are ok but they're not convenient and the places you want to bring your own, you can't as they check for bottles and cans. So what's a red-blooded, beer-lovin' American to do?

CARBO-POUCH !!!

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/carbopouch_gives_beer_a_better_taste_than_the_metallic_tinge_from_the_cans.php

Those lucky kids and their juice pouches... now adults can enjoy the convenience of those foil pouches filled with our favorite beer (with special liner to avoid any nasty flavors)! Well, I really don't know what beer will be in it, but I'll give it a try for sure!

Imagine sneaking a six pack into the stadium and saving all that money and hassle of going to the concession stand and missing two innings or a whole quarter.

I might even go camping... nahhhhh.

Bladder control and modern movies

Remember when movies were only one and a half hours long and buying a large drink and popcorn wasn't cause for extended thought? Now that movies are over two hours (some over THREE hours), you better think twice about that two gallon drink and garbage can of popcorn.

Admit it. It's happened to you. Your enjoying the epic movie and just before the two hour mark (when the plot FINALLY kicks in), you begin to get that full feeling down below. No, it's not your wallet, it's your bladder. It's kindly letting you know that unless you would like to squish as you walk out of the theatre, you'd better exchange your beautiful wide screen entertainment scenery for a view that would make a homeless person living underneath I-95 retch. But now you've just missed the best part of the movie. It's guaranteed.

Never fear! Runpee.com is here! (blatant Underdog rip-off)

This website is awesome! Pick a movie, any movie. Runpee.com analyzes the movie for you and let's you know when is the best time to go and pee! OMG! Not only that, pick one of the times they suggest and they'll tell you how long you have to pee without missing something good/important and show you what goes on during your pee break! The text is encrypted so you don't know what happens if you don't want to but a click will descramble the text so that after the movie (or before if you like knowing what happens before you see the movie) and figure out what you missed.



GENIUS!

Then again... you could just wear Depends and enjoy the warmth.

What did you call me?!

So we're discussing an issue at work regarding a situation where one user could see another user's nickname for someone. Imagine you give a nickname in our system to someone that you don't have the highest regard for... "Idiot Sam" would be a polite one. "Shit for Brains" would be more to the point. Imagine if "Sam" saw the nickname you gave him... right. Not good. We could immediately see the lawsuits against us if that sort of thing would happen so we came up with a way around the issue.

But while we were on the topic, we started to get silly (No! Us? Really!) and come up with names that would be very bad if they ever got out... such as ones someone would give their significant other.

Author note: No, my dear, we're not talking about you or JL's wife. I promise! No, really, it was about people in general!!!

So we came up with a quick three nicknames for significant others that would be instant death if it got out. What I want is for you to suggest other names like these to make the definitive list of Instant Death Nicknames. M/M, F/F are also included... hey, if gay couples can get legally married, then they deserve their own Instant Death Nicknames!

Just comment on this post and provide your own suggestions! Here's our starting list:

1. Joy Killer
2. Dream Crusher
3. Soul Sucker

Doesn't have to be two words but let's not write paragraphs. We all could use a little therapy but this isn't a vent session.

Have fun!

Geek Tip: 22-APR-09

Geek Tip: How to save and restore your Windows desktop icon layout

Have you ever had Windows just decide to change where all your desktop icons are? I hate it when that happens. Today's automatic rearrangement was just too much for me. So I googled and found this tip:

http://www.watchingthenet.com/restore-desktop-icon-layout-when-windows-changes-lauout.html

Works like a charm! Easy and safe!

A new use for that unused photon torpedo

I've thought about this for a business idea for a while but some companies out there are making it happen.

What are some of the things that you can't avoid? Death, taxes, some high ranked team blowing it and ruining your March Madness bracket... Ok, that last one is just my own personal demon, but let's get past this A.D.D. moment.

Birth, Bris/Christening, Bar/Bat Mitzvah/Confirmation, Wedding... we've taken all these life events and blown the celebration so out of proportion that the true meaning of the solemn event can easily be lost. (pause for serious effect). So let's put the bling into Death!

Yeah, I know it's a sobering and solemn event but not even the outlandish of arrangements and the outrageous prices paid by the loved ones you leave behind are exempt from letting someone take it up a notch. BAM!

Custom caskets. Yes, I said custom caskets. Show your loyalty to your favorite sports team. Show how you would die (and may have) for your favorite grind metal band. Show your passion for your favorite futuristic sci-fi/fantasy show. In this case, you can be buried, just like Spock, in a photon torpedo casket or have your ashes kept in a Klingon Urn. Think about it...

Starting with the kids and adults of 1966 and continuing through today, people have fantasised about living in the 23rd century on a starship hurtling through the void of space. I know I'm not the only Trek geek out there with this fantasy! Now you can be laid to rest in a coffin that shows your love for all that is Trek.

So take it further...

Are you a fan of Jimmy Johnson and wouldn't you just die to be buried in a replica of the #48? Are you an Chicago Cub fan and would like nothing more than to be put to rest for eternity in a Cubby Themed Urn (except for finally winning a World Series in the modern era)? U2 coffin, iPhone urn, you name it, show your loyalty forever! And think of the economic stimulation that would occur!


You ever wonder if there is some intelligent life out there and they're looking down at us and laughing their asses off?

My Blackberry and I may need counseling

Ok... maybe that's going too far considering its just a not-so-smart phone but I'm getting very frustrated with this thing...

I needed to finally move into the "smartphone" age and get a device that allows me to receive and respond to emails in order to support my new venture, VirtualWaitingRoom.com (VWR). My coworker, JL, went out an got an iPhone. I have wanted an iPhone for a while but was hesitant to pull the trigger until such time as 1) my VZW contract was up and 2) the iPhone got a little better than it was in version 1. Since JL got an iPhone, it made sense for me to get a Blackberry so that we could build and test out VWR applications we make for each computer (and these phones really are computers).

A good friend of mine hooked me up with a free Blackberry 8330 Curve to try things out. Not the latest but just fine for my purposes. I set it up with his help and I'm off and running... then strange things started to happen...

First, I couldn't make phone calls. The Blackberry was up and running, could access all contacts and features but it appears that the radio was off. Ok, so you go in and turn it on. Nope. Doesn't take. Turns out that when the Blackberry runs very low on battery, it shuts down the radio but leaves the phone running because it has so many other things it can do for you. Plug it in and recharge but the radio doesn't come back on when it has enough power. You have to reboot the phone. (Cue music for Windows 95 - Start me up!) I find I have to three finger reboot this thing once a week to keep it going. Research on the forums show official RIM personnel telling you that you should remove the battery weekly to keep the cache clean and such. You have got to be kiddin' me.

Next, we have the wonderful option to add a sim card to expand the memory which is woefully small. Who had the brilliant idea to put it behind the battery? Maybe it was the guy from the movie "The Core" who put the emergency ejection system trigger in the outer corridor which is at 5 bajillion degrees?

Now I'm having problems trying to recharge and use the phone at all. The "Blackbrick" (as I'm now calling it), tries to charge, automatically turns on and says it doesn't have enough power so it shuts off and stops charging. If you're so smart to know you need more juice and you're plugged in, why won't you drink the dang Kool-Aid? So I go out, get a $40 battery and try again, but this time I'm plugging it into my pc's usb so that I can back it up... just in case.

Right. Proactive thinking never goes unpunished.

Windows doesn't recognize it as a device anymore. Grrrrrr. Forums say switch out the cable. Did that; No dice. Update its drivers. Did that; No dice. Reboot Windows and the Blackbrick. Did that; No dice. Now the friggin' battery, which had very litle charge in it new, is now dead and I'm back to the "I think I can, I think I can... nope I couldn't" start sequence. SIGH.

Let me get this straight. People all over the world love this thing. I get that. They live by it. I get that. Do they know they have choices? Do they know that this thing is basically a terminal from the 80's with a character mode screen that can throw up some images? Yes, I know the "touch screen" Storm is more graphical. It also acts and sounds like a Dymo label printer. You really want me to press down on the screen that hard to tell it I want to do something? Ever try one of the demo models in a Verizon store? They never work. Why? Cause all the people out there are presssing the heck out of the screens and breaking that delicate technology.

You may ask, "Why am I getting so frustrated?" I'll tell you. I also own an iPod touch. Didnt' want the iPhone as it wasn't 3G and didn't have copy/paste and such but everything else about the device is a dream. Wonderful graphics, responsive, quick on / off (the "Blackbrick" takes minutes to do either). 16G of storage, mp3/video player on a very large screen and not a dang thing "terminal" about it. Am I an Apple lover? To some degree... they make great human interfaces and are very forward thinking with their products except when it comes to opening up their OS to third parties. But I'm not an Apple Freak. Having used and enjoyed the iTouch for a year, JL and I came up with the perfect explanation for my disastisfaction for the "BlackBrick".

The Blackberry is functional.
The iTouch/iPhone is fun.

I enjoy using the iTouch.
My needs are served by the Blackberry.

I am entertained and, yes, coddled by my iTouch and its ease of use, wonderful presentation.
I am forced to drill down multiple menu paths to change options with my Blackberry all the while feeling like I'm back in 1980.

I just don't enjoy using the Blackberry. I love using the iTouch.

I understand that the iPhone has its share of issues. Its just getting functionality that the Blackberry has had for many years. But its going to be available soon. The calls drop too much on ATT. The battery life may not be what it should be on the iPhone. And more... nothing is perfect.

But if I have to put up with a smartphone's quirks, can I please be entertained while I'm doing so?