TECH: APPLE NEST

NEST

I just installed this thermostat today. The thing is just like an iPod/Phone. It's got a cool interface, saves me money, has AI and learns how I like my home temperature when I'm at home and out. I get alerts to my computer/devices and can set the temperature when I'm roaming.

This is George Jetson kind of stuff. I'm going through beta testing but will blog next year when I learn how much money this thing saved me. Check this out at apple.com.

ps. This thing scans the room and knows when I'm home or not then adjusts the temp as needed. Sick!


ps. ps. If Microsoft made this device it would need updates every day, crash on me every hour and ask me "Are you sure you want to adjust the temperature" every freaking time. Thankfully Bill and his team of half baked coders are sticking with PCs. You might think that I'm a Microsoft hater, maybe I am, but they do have one good product "X-Box". Whoever is in that devision needs to move to PCs.

PIC: Sports

From the green guys face "Owe! That hurt!" to the red guy really giving it his all. I laughed till I cried. Rugby is my new favorite sport.

MOV: MATRIX

LARRY WACHOWSKI one of the directors of the greatest Sci-fi trilogy of all time is now Lana Wachowski or what I'd like to call "A cross between Sideshow Bob and Killer Clowns from Outer space."

Nice work Larry you now look completely insane.

VID: TIM MINCHIN

This is for all you knew parents out there. Don't ever hurt your baby.

I think of it sometimes when I'm up late at night rocking my baby back to sleep.

BTW- Does this guy look like Sweeney Todd or what?

VID: TIM and ERIC

BUB-BUBS

Weird but funny. Strange but funny. How did these two guys meet?

POP: TOMKAT SPLIT

TOMKAT SPLIT

I was a little shocked to head how much people really care about this. From EW to Inside Edition every "Reporter" is on the case. What is happening with Tomkat? Who filed for divorce first? Who gets Suri? What about Scientology? Did their religion have anything to do with the split?

You'd think it was someone important that is getting divorced. Their actors people. Actors! What you see is not what you get. Someone dresses them, writes words for them, tells them how to act, where to go, what to buy, etc, etc. Who you really like are all the people behind the scenes that make up Tomkat, not Tomcat. Sorry to burst your bubble but celebrities aren't important, unless you have and extra $12.00 in your pocket and two-hours to burn.

HELP: COMPUTER VIRUS

COMPUTER VIRUS: DNS VIRUS

On Monday at 12:01am if you have this virus you will not be able to connect to the internet. The FBI set up a website to check your computer for this virus. Good news for Mac users it probably hasn't infected your computer, it's primarily PC users, but I checked anyway.


LINKS to virus checks on the FBI site.
English: http://www.dns-ok.us/

MULTIPLE LANGUAGES: There are many links for other languages on the FBI site. Check this link:
https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS

GAM: RAGE QUIT SUPER MEAT BOY

THIS IS STILL ONE OF THE 

FUNNIEST THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN! 

Every time I hear this guy's voice I think of Joe Pesci.

MOV: THE PATRIOT

Good movie, right? Right. 

One scene always confuses me. Next time you see this movie pay close attention to the last battle. After Mel Gibson is about to be slain by Jason Isaacs character, they go into a slow mo., of all the blue coats run past, the flag is being waved and victory is at hand. Don't you think one of them would have shot Isaacs character, or pushed him or even tossed out a foot as they ran past, to defend their compadre?  I understand, it would have been more anticlimactic if some extra tackled the villain to the ground, slain him and ran off into the sunset.

Even I would have been like "What the hell was that?" or "Who the hell was that?"

ART: BABY IN SPACE

This was colored using Painter program. The medium used is medium Pastel on rough art paper.

The idea behind the illustration was how to blend the baby's favorite toys into the scene. To do that I made the toys functional. The ship is a Lady Bug, the Baby monitor is the communicator and the octopus is the good luck charm/companion. There is more to the story so take a closer look.

GAM: BIOSHOCK INFINITE

BIOSHOCK INFINITE

This is it! The game we've all been waiting for. The first Bioshock was one of the greatest games ever made; from one great well balanced story to impeccable lighting and scenery designs. Bioshock was an exsperience. If you played it, you know it.

Bioshock 2 however was one of the biggest piles of crap I've every played. If you played that, you know it.

What was the difference between Bioshock 1 and 2? The creators of the game. Nobody on 1 made 2. So what about Bioshock 3. Who made that? Lucky for us all it was the original creators. So if you haven't watched the trailer, watch it!

POP: ROCK BOTTOM REMAINDERS

ROCK BOTTOM REMAINDERS

So my new EW mag., came in today, thank goodness. And in the golden pages of Pop-culture nirvana there's an article about a band I never heard of breaking up. Normally, unknown bands break up every day, and much like a fart in the wind we're glad when their gone.

So what is this blurb about Professor? This band if full of writers, well known writers like Stephen King, Amy Tan, Matt Groening and more. Yes, "THE" Stephen King, Uncle Stevie himself on vocals no less.

No offense Steve, but I've never heard your music but I've heard you talk. Not the greatest voice, a bit nasally, really. And in the EW it showed you on the mic, and for that reason alone your music is dead to me.

MOV: GHOST RIDER

I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!

But, what the heck is it about Nicolas Cage. I rent every one of his movies and I dislike almost all of them. He's a terrible actor, plays one part Nick Cage. And the next time he has a move (which will be soon I'm sure -- I'll rent that too, and I'll hate it. But damn, there is something about Nick Cage that makes me want to waste $5.00.

If you are plagued with the same self abuse, is there a cure? Please tell me the cure!

VID: Crazy Lady

WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU SEEN THIS?

This lady is awesome. Have fun laughing.

TV: ANN CURRY

SOME PEOPLE JUST DON'T FIT!

It's hard to be great at what you do and also likable. Ann wasn't fun to watch at all. She made me feel uncomfortable and I hate feeling uncomfortable.

All day Reporters have been talking about how good Ann is as a reporter. I guess I don't really care about that. Are any of the hosts on the Today show reporters? Can I be a reporter if I read off of cue cards? No. But what they have to be in likable and be able to deliver the topics. Ann was only good at the delivery.

The older I get the more I understand that it's not how good you are at what you do, but how much people like you.

Goodbye Ann Curry, we've had good times and bad, we've laughed and cried but mostly cried.

TV: TWO and a HALF MEN

WHAT'S MISSING IN THIS PICTURE?

I could watch the old reruns with Charlie Sheen over and over and over. I knew what jokes were coming next but didn't care. The dynamic between Alan and Charlie was fun and didn't feel forced, unlike some long haired people we know.

Is it me or is Kutcher playing this character like Kelso (if this isn't how you spell it, I really don't care enough to look it up).

p.s. I'm really getting tired of those dumb Nikon finger commercials with Kelso. Either their selling a lot of Finger Cameras or some fool in suit drew up too big of a contract.

MOV: WATCHMEN

GREAT COMIC BOOK MOVIE 

THAT IS UNDER ACCLAIMED!

I don't really get it. I'm a huge comic book fan. My books are all bagged, backed and boxed. Last time I moved my books I had to make four trips with an industrial dolly. But enough about me and my obsession. Let's get back to this movie. Was is too dark? Was it lacking an upside down kiss in an Alley?

From a great storyline to impeccable direction to one really cool antihero Rochard, it doesn't get much better than this. Look, I like most comic book movies but not many are really movies. Mostly their entertaining and fun, then when the credits end you wipe your buttery fingers and leave. No second thought about what you just watched. But not this movie. This is art. So give it another chance. Pop it in, stream it, whatever, I'm telling ya' you'll be surprised at how good it really is.

NWZ: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Is this what you think of when Zombie's attack? We've been hearing a lot about the Undead Apocalypse. No doubt it has a lot to do with the multitude of unbalance freaks out there; like the guy who ate that homeless guy's face, or the woman who attempted to eat her infants arm or even the guy who had that other dudes hands and brain bits in a Tupperware, (I hope it was Glad, keeps it fresher).

I'm not convinced, something weird is definitely happening, but zombies? No, not a chance. But I'll keep an open mind, if one of these face eating freaks ever comes knocking at my door I will not hesitate in taking them down to China town.

ART: Pierangelo Boog's

One of the hardest things about art is making composition feel natural. To guide the viewers eye around the picture, attempting not to let it go. Although the composition in this picture is forced-to-the-extreem, it's done with masterful technique.

BK: READY PLAYER ONE

I love books. Lot's of books. 

If it's good I'll read it. 

A month ago my cousin recommended this book to me. I was finishing George R. R. Martin's, A Song of Ice and Fire for the second time, so I had time. There aren't many times in literature where a book speaks to every part of your being. 

Maybe it's because I'm a Graphic/Web Designer. Maybe it's because I write code. Or maybe it's because I play video games like it's my job. Honestly, it's all of the above. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the future, video games, pop culture, computers and the 80's. For everyone else, I still highly recommend this book, but want to know what's wrong with you.

ART: PICASSO DEFACED

If you haven't heard another Picasso was defaced by spray paint. I'm an "Artist" -- I hate the term -- and years ago someone stepped on one of my pictures and put a crease in the paper. Instantly I was enraged, all the hours I put into that picture and now the paper has a crease in it! 

For those of you that aren't artistically inclined, we know every stroke we've ever made in our work. Every hour spent pulling that image out form the paper or canvas is deeply personal.

The picture above is not just shapes rendered with paint. It's a piece of Picasso's soul. The Truth is, if Picasso were here he'd be in jail for 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree murder (all on the same person). You might think that's a bit drastic, but he'd go nuts on the vandal.

I don't think this person should go to jail and waste tax payers money. But they should have to pay a huge fine, have to register as an art offender and get a punched right in the face.

POP: THE FACEBOOK ILLUSION

The Facebook Illusion

Who else was a contender? Zuck did the impossible. He made every Joe-Smo feel like a celebrity. How many friends can I get? How many "Likes", or the Holy Grail of Facebook: The all powerful Comment.

Like everyone, I have a Facebook account but after the first year I quickly grew disillusioned. My "Friends" list exploded into the hundreds, full of people I never hung around with. The posts I read were so mind numbingly dumb, one day I exploded and made a "Comment Dump" and quit Facebook. 

Not unlike a Crack Addict it was really hard to give up my addiction. Althogh I didn't post comments I checked Facebook daily for months, wondering what was going on? What are people doing? The answer to that question was nothing, or they are doing what you're doing. So what are you doing? Anything exciting? Anything worth talking about ten times a day with one-hundred of your closest  "Friends". 

Look, Facebook was fun. But it's over! 

Unless Zuck figures out what to do next he's going to end up like Tom.

Comment Dump is below if you're interested...

 I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to signing off of Facebook on May 2 @ 5:00pm. If you have something to say you better say it. Otherwise call. But if you call I don’t want to hear ‘Where you ate’ ‘a comment you like’ ‘a song quote’ or anything else Facebookian which makes my brain feel like soup being defecated from Forest Gump’s anus. I can’t wait to be socially retarded again. To not have the urge to check Facebook 30 times a day. I want my life back. Why? Because I don’t really care about all the nothing you did today and nor will I care tomorrow. Farewell my faux friends. Farewell to your ‘Likes’. Farewell to Facebook. I realize that I really didn’t want to know.

(Not one of my greatest online moments, but it's from the heart.)