Archive for 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Google Maps: Turn Left At The Light And Kayak 3,879 Miles
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009We knew we’d have to get in a kayak at least ONCE if we drove from Detroit to Sydney, but this is RIDICULOUS.
Google has some serious quirks. We’ve written about the bizarre results of Google’s autocomplete function, and we were surprised to find that there really is a WTF, California. But when we decided to drive from Detroit, Michigan to Sydney, Australia, we were rather surprised to find some serious flaws in Google’s driving direction data. It wasn’t so much that Google was telling us to drive across the northern United States (see image at left), which – when factoring for the curvature of the Earth – probably added at least a thousand miles to the drive. And it wasn’t even when they said we’d have to kayak through the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific Ocean. What really took the cake was when Google suggested we had to kayak first 2,756 miles to Hawaii: Read the rest of this entry »
Tired Of Video Games? Hack Your Brain With Ping Pong Balls Instead
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 13, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Monday, July 13th, 2009Worried that you have an Internet or video game addiction? Maybe you should try doing drugs or something.
Due to the recent discovery of the tragic and perhaps incurable First-Person Shooter Disease (see the clip at left), we’re taking a break from the mindless Flash games usually highlighted in our weekly Monday morning time-wasters to take a more serious look at the damaging effects of video games and the Internet. While in the west we’re still debating whether or not there’s some kind of addictive disorder related to surfing and gaming, the Chinese have not only decided there is, they’ve set up boot camps to deal with the problem. After doing a little informal research, it becomes clear that they’re on the right track. The three most noteworthy gaming-related deaths were all Asian*; a Chinese gamer who killed someone over an imaginary sword, a Korean man who died after a marathon gaming session at an Internet cafe, and a Vietnamese kid who killed a woman for video game money. So let’s look at alternatives to sitting at the computer. How about self-induced hallucinations without drugs? Or better yet, with drugs? If, like me, you don’t feel like actually doing drugs, the book The Beyond Within
How To Sell Your Soul (Or Put It In Cold Storage Until You’re Ready)
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 12, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Sunday, July 12th, 2009A funny thing happened on the way to selling my soul. I found a trailer for the movie Cold Souls.
 Be careful in your dealings with Satan. He can be a real Dick sometimes. |
With the state of the economy recently, it may have occurred to you to sell your soul to put an end to your financial woes. We were doing a little research along these lines to help you out when we ran across an interesting company that made us ask ourselves the question: why not just put it in cold storage until you decide? Unfortunately, it turned out upon further perusal that in spite of the fact that the company even has a Facebook page – which of course always lends a great deal of credibility to an organization’s brand – it is in fact itself the worst form of selling your soul (at least if you’re on a team assigned to marketing a product), a slightly botched viral marketing campaign for the movie Cold Souls, due for release in August. Actually the film looks promising, see a trailer here. But if you came here more interested in selling your soul than storing it, here are some quick guides to help you get on that road to hell. This page looks credible; it gets right to the point with red text on a black background, a “666″ in the URL, and a form you can fill out right away. This rambling guide, presented by the a member of the British Church of Satan , also looks promising. After rambling on for awhile about how to do it, it then suggests Satan doesn’t exist. Which, as we all know, is exactly how Satan works. They also provide a handy Amazon link to the Satanic Bible
Why I Won’t Be Buying Chris Anderson’s Free Book
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on July 11, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Saturday, July 11th, 2009Why you should steal Chris Anderson’s $26.99 book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. And what do Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Chris Anderson, and Mark Cuban have in common? They all have opinions.
  Buy Chris Anderson’s FREE BOOK On Amazon For Only $26.99! |
As I type this, I’m listening to the free audio book version (285MB, .zip format) of Chris Anderson’s Free: The Future of a Radical Price
Is It Barack Obama’s Fault You’re Broke?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 10, 2009 by admin in Politics
Friday, July 10th, 2009We’re a little overdue for more irrational finger-pointing about the economy. Maybe Obama did it.
 This image has little to do with the article. We just thought it might get your attention. |
I think it’s obvious if you take a quick look at the Politics section here on Dissociated Press that I’m no political science expert. But I do think I’m a little more aware than the average Bible-thumping Palin supporter, or all-bark-no-bite liberal intellectual. Which is why, although I feel comfortable in saying that politicians by and large are a bunch of money hungry, morally decrepit philanderers, I can still take a broader view and realize that although the media is already trying to link Obama administration policy to the economy, that this is patently absurd. So who’s to blame for the economic situation? Well, Time Magazine has 25 suggestions. But maybe it’s testosterone, or a glitch in our brains. Or maybe mathematics is to blame. Personally, I think it’s all at once both a little simpler, and a little more complex than all of this. I think it’s greed, and a long-term crisis of values. At least with Enron, there was a feeling that someone was going after the bad guys. And as a result, Enron no longer exists. In the case of the recent massive financial industry failures though, we’ve mostly sat back as citizens and coughed up the loot while the responsible parties move through the magic revolving door of business and government. This Vanity Fair piece about Joseph Cassano is one of the few in-depth looks at the real people behind this catastrophe that I’ve seen, and Cassano is just one of dozens of his type. I don’t know about you, but I’m broke, a little angry, and a little confused. Part of me wants to make an updated Leave Barack Alone video, and part of me wants to join Jon Stewart in saying “That’s great. Now fix the economy!” What do you think?