Archive for 2009

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Touchy Feely Lipstick Laptops

[ 2 Comments ]Posted on April 12, 2009 by admin in Technology

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Cool laptop concepts, with something special for the ladies. Or guys like me, who wear makeup.

As someone who’s always a little disappointed with existing technology (give me anti-gravity travel and holographic computer interfaces, NOW!), I have a bit of a fetish for design concepts. My current reality-based fantasy is for the MacBook Touch to actually exist. It would also be fun, if it did exist, if it had a more three dimensional, tactile interface, something like BumpTop. While we’re dreaming of a more interesting mobile computing device, how about a “laptop” that rolls up so you can carry it like a purse? Or something like the HP Makeup, which has a screen that converts to a mirror, a built-in cosmetic tray, and a nail polishing port. There’s also a fitness model. Those two images are from a humorous piece created by a Russian designer for a women’s holiday feature. More info here, and if you speak Russian, here. And the closest we have to my dream of a holographic computer are apparently the Celluon Laser Keyboard and the i-Tech Virtual Laser Keyboard. I wait patiently for the future as I type this on my cute black MacBook. Read the rest of this entry »

Obama’s First One Hundred Daze

[ Comments Off ]Posted on April 11, 2009 by admin in Politics

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Is Obama our hope for the future, or has he pledged himself to Satan?

Clearly, we haven’t even reached the traditional 100 day marker of a new administration, but personally, I border on feeling like I was chumped again. Don’t get me wrong, I in fact voted for the man. And I believe in my gut that he’s a good person, with good values. Which is why I’m concerned. He’s only 47 years old, and swimming in a shark tank of Washington insiders. Talking to a friend the other day, we agreed that maybe Obama needs to get all FDR on their ass, so to speak. Jon Stewart recently made light of the conservative media’s desperate assertion that Obama’s a tyrant. But in a way, I think we need a tyrant. Not a demented, imperialistic fiend like Dick Cheney, but a single, solid voice that will speak about what we all know is the right thing, and galvanize the heart of our country. In the meantime, if the Obama administration doesn’t stop being more like the Bush administration than the Bush administration was – by doing things like expanding the Bush era State Secrets doctrines (it started in January, and is only getting worse) – I’m gonna have to start believing the hype about Obama’s pledges to Satan. Never mind his bowing to Saudi King Abdullah, I’ll accept that as a simple protocol gaffe, one that hardly compares with the kind of crap Prince Philip pulls on a regular basis. But seriously, what do you think? Can Obama handle the current state of affairs?

What’s So Good About Good Friday?

[ 5 Comments ]Posted on April 10, 2009 by admin in Holidays

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Not much, if you were Jesus.


This image has little to do with the
article. It’s amazing how riled up
people can get about 3 words though.

Well not much, if you were Jesus. On the other hand, it’s pretty cool in another way, because it’s one of those rare moments when two world religions have a chance to realize how connected they are, instead of getting into a “my god is better than your god” debate. I say “a chance to realize”, because historically, it’s gone the other way. I find it a little scary that to this day, thirty-seven percent of Americans agree that Jews were responsible for killing Jesus Christ. Wake up kids, Jesus was a Jew. And your precious Easter Dinner? You’re just adding bunnies to the traditional Passover dinner that Jesus himself ate. So let’s all take a minute to remember that if you believe in God, and believe there’s only one God, y’all probably believe in the same God. And for those who haven’t picked their favorite religion yet, please refer to The Big Religion Chart By the way, if you’re Jewish, Christian, Other, Or Agnostic, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Atheists need not apply, you’ve had enough press time lately…

Vitamin String Quartet: Sex, Drugs, And Violins

[ Comments Off ]Posted on April 9, 2009 by admin in Music

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Heartfelt covers of everything from Jimmy Buffet to Radiohead, played by a string quartet.

I’m usually not at all fond of “clever” covers of music that juxtapose genres like “Switched On Bach” or the “101 Strings Orchestra Play The Beatles”. Unless, of course, it’s the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain doing playing the Theme From Shaft, or almost anything by Nouvelle Vague. I ran into another exception yesterday. It all began innocently enough; an acquaintence shared a link to a Delerium video with Nerina Pallot singing. I got curious about Nerina Pallot, ran across her tepid rendition (she’s otherwise really talented, don’t get me wrong!) of “Love Will Tear Us Apart Again”, and as so often happens on YouTube, I noticed the Vitamin String Quartet version in the sidebar. That led to another hour of checking out their stuff on YouTube before ending up on Amazon buying mp3 downloads. The quartet covers everything from Jimmy Buffett to Nine Inch Nails , and you can tell the players they hire have a feel for the music in many cases, rather than just being washed up classical hacks who couldn’t get a real orchestra gig. But don’t trust me, compare Paramore’s Hallelujah with the Vitamin String Quartet’s version. They also do a great job with Creep (and interestingly, someone’s already remixed it as a 3-Part Canon) . The whole catalog’s probably easier to peruse on their site (but I don’t make any money that way!), and I imagine that as well as doing genuinely listenable covers, some of it would be excellent kitsch as well. I mean, somehow I can’t imagine a heartfelt rendition of Korn or Marilyn Manson played by a string quartet.

Star Trek Physics And Why Green Chicks Are Hot

[ 2 Comments ]Posted on April 8, 2009 by admin in Popular Media

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

The physics are obvious enough. But what is this thing I have for green women?


Green Chicks Are Hot

The original Star Trek television series, for better or worse, has influenced my life in two profound ways: 1.) I’ve been disappointed with our primitive technology my entire life, and 2.) I think green chicks are hot. Although I’m not really a sci-fi fan per se (I mean, I don’t write 7,000 word treatises on how transporters work, for instance), some of my favorite pop media (Blade Runner, 2001, Ray Bradbury) are in the genre. And the original Star Trek was one of my favorite shows as a kid. That’s why I’m excited to hear that the responses to an early surprise screening of the upcoming film were mostly very positive. The Star Trek franchise has definitely had a bumpy history. In case you’ve been living in an alternate universe and need a primer, Cracked.com has a humorous and informative overview of the best and worst of the Star Trek oeuvre. If you’re already something of a fan, you might find Top 10 Things I Hate About Star Trek a little amusing, with observations like: “…we also know what the worst job on the Enterprise would be: having to squeegie the holodeck clean“. Which is something I’ve always thought about. I mean, given basic human nature and the fact that 90% of internet traffic is spam about penis enlargement or porn being downloaded, do we really think the Holodeck would be used any differently? If you’re more of a realist, or perhaps a teacher looking for way to make basic physics more amusing, check out The Physics of Star Trek, wherein they demonstrate with existing physics how “warp drive” would require more energy than our Sun will produce in its lifetime. Or how, although a holodock is theoretically possible, “Eventually you’ll hit the wall if you walk around“. Which is all fine and well. What I really want to know is why do I think green chicks are so hot?

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