Every Clothing Store. Ever.
Funny comics site I just stumbled on. Doghouse. Check it out.
This one is dead on. Just in time for warm weather clothes shopping season 
Government Insanity of the Week – Hoop Dreams
You hear about these types of things all the time and shrug them off. Nanny government protecting us from ourselves and from offending others. That’s how it all happens, actually, we’re too busy to draw the line and make a big deal of it. It’s death by a thousand paper cuts.
But this particular one ticked me off more than others..and I think it was because on film you get to sit there and watch 5 or 6 cops just bulldoze a neighborhood’s basketball goals because of one complaint. And you get to see the helpless people have to act as if their private property is the government’s..the officials even say so much as they boss them around. The helpless feeling I saw is one that many are having these days as an administration gets their fingers in everything from what lightbulbs we use, to what we can eat. The European Union just floated the idea of outlawing cars in European cities by 2050. And that’s the model our upper class loves to follow.
But you’ll also see that this video is getting tons of hits. And in the age of YouTube, the news media can’t gloss over it anymore. People can see what’s going on if they want. And thankfully, they are.
Check it out. And don’t be afraid to be outraged. A basketball goal isn’t a big deal. A lightbulb isn’t a big deal. Let them by without a word and they’ll keep pressing until you can’t undo 40 years of nanny state rule.
Wayne’s World Returns (Briefly)
A few weeks ago, Wayne’s World, with the original cast, returned to SNL. A worthwhile watch..as funny as any of the original sketches and a reminder how unfunny the show has been the past few years.
Mike Myers is a little rusty, but Dana Carvey looks like he just did his last one yesterday.
Hidden Gems: Chick-fil-a Breakfast Platter: Order by Name
My favorite breakfast item at Chick-fil-a isn’t even on the menu. I’ve been ordering it for years, but one day it mysteriously vanished from the selection list. If you’ve tried you’d have great confusion as to why.. the Chick-fil-a breakfast platter. But say it outloud and you’ll get a friendly nod of approval and a “coming right up.” It’s almost if I’m in a secret club now. A delicious secret club.
If you’re overwhelmed by the grease of a chicken biscuit and hash browns, the platter comes with a chicken breakfast filet, a biscuit (by itself), a cup of sausage gravy, and a serving of scrambled eggs. As I found out recently, you can now substitute the Spicy Chicken breakfast filet for a wonderful start to the day. It will wake you up.
So remember to ask for it by name – the Spicy Chicken Breakfast Platter. Pour the sausage gravy on the biscuit, or put the filet on the biscuit. It all comes individually on a tray. Or, if you don’t want gravy, pour it all over your body and bask in the knowledge that you’re the only one who knows about this hidden gem.
Blast From the 90′s! ‘Dumber’ and ‘Pie’ to Return?
I’m not so much a fan of the new style of comedies… a gross-out style which oddly started with some of my favorites like American Pie, but over time devolved into the Judd Apatow raunch fests and somewhat incoherent “The Hangover.”
But at least they were original ideas. As Hollywood does, these days, it looks like the vault has opened and they are resurrecting some of the new classics, with confirmation of American Pie 4 in a reunion movie, and rumors of a new Dumb and Dumber.
Check the links below for the latest info. I’m secretly looking forward to both of these, and hopefully a Super Troopers 2. Even if they will probably end up like American Wedding. As these things tend to be, Dumb and Dumber 2 likely won’t happen, but American Pie Reunion looks to be a go.
American Pie 4
Universal, which made and distributed the pop-phenomenon original, is developing a new version with an eye toward resetting the property as a theatrical franchise.
The studio is poised to bring on “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg to script a new take on the franchise, which is being described in the development community as “American Pie 4.”
- read the rest at The LA Times
Dumb and Dumber 2
..Bob Farrelly at the “Hall Pass” junket in Sydney this morning, the filmmaker – one half of the veteran comedy duo known for their ridiculously over-the-top laffers, “There’s Something About Mary” and “Kingpin” – let slip that he and his brother Peter are currently developing their first sequel.
“[Dumb and Dumber] has run a bunch of times on TV in the states, and kids will come up and they’ll be able to quote lines from that – lines that I’ve long forgotten. If we could get those two guys back together, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels that might be a worthwhile sequel – and that ball is in motion.
20 Commandments for Runners
After a particularly grueling 5k race this past weekend from pushing too hard and setting expectations a bit further than my original intent of “running for fun,” it was nice to come across these “20 running commandments” on Strictly Running.
They aren’t guidelines for how you should physically run, but more for how to put running, or really any kind of exercise program and personal goals, into perspective. A good read… (normally I wouldn’t post this in its entirety from a site, but this list can be found in various forms on the internet, though Strictly Running edited out the more silly ones from a larger Top 40 list).
Top 20 Running Commandments
- Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
- Don’t make running your life, make it part of your life.
- When doing group runs, start on time no matter who is missing.
- Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
- When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be there.
- The faster you are the less you should talk about your times.
- Don’t always run alone.
- Don’t always run with people.
- The best runs sometimes come on the days you didn’t feel like running.
- Be modest after a race, especially if you have reason to brag.
- All runners are equal; some are just faster than others.
- There are no short cuts to run excellence.
- There is nothing boring about running, there are, however, boring people who run.
- Look at hills as opportunities to pass people.
- Don’t try to out run dogs.
- With out goals, training has no purpose.
- Go for broke, but prepare to be broken.
- Unless you make your living as a runner, don’t take running too seriously.
- Runners who never fail are runners who never tried anything great.
- Running is simple. Don’t make it complicated.
Greenville, SC Lands on Men’s Jounal Best Places to Live
Most Greenvillers scratch their head when northern folk talk about how lame the South and South Carolina is (as thousands continue to flock here and run from up there). Greenville offers the best of most worlds, for myself and those who know. Outdoors adventures (biking, hiking, climbing, kayaking) within minutes in any direction, an oddly vibrant downtown for a city this size, strong economy, and day-trip access to the beach.
Men’s Journal seems to agree as Greenville was just named one of the Best Places to Live in the United States, a list of 18 cities.
Cities to join Greenville on Men’s Journal’s list are Durango, Colo.; Sarasota, Fla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tenn.; Fargo, N.D.; Northampton, Mass.; Huntsville, Ala.; Minneapolis; Frisco, Texas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Portsmouth, N.H.; New Orleans; Jacksonville, Ore.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Philipsburg, Mont.; and Flagstaff, Ariz.
Down and Dirty: The iPhone to Android Switch Top 5
The Bottom Line: I wish my Droid phone did 4 of the things my iPhone did, I wish my iPhone did 25 things my Droid phone did.
It was the unthinkable just months ago, but as Droid powered into a usable OS, iPhone seems to have rested on its beauty…making minor OS improvements while Droid was making leaps. From my experience, even the craziest fanboys are starting to ask themselves. Survey: Consumers More Likely to Buy Android than iPhone.
Does Droid Do? I made the switch to find out.
There are probably 1000s of comparisons of Android and iPhone online, and the differences really depend on what you do with your phone. Since Android is so customizable, any comparison has to have lengthy description of what settings and what apps you have installed. So instead, I’ll do a top 5 best and worst. What I did find out, though, is they are so different you have to use it for at least a week to even figure out how different.
Android Top 5 Features
5) Lock Screen and Notifications - Android uses the full surface of the phone to organize notifications. Pull the list down from the top, get a full listing on your screen, and none of them are intrusive. On iPhone, the notifications tell you little, the lockscreen is useless for info, and be prepared to completely stop what you’re doing if you get a text slammed right on top of your entire screen. The Android maps app even tells you your next turn in the status bar when it’s locked, for example.
And don’t underestimate the ability to swipe left to access more screens..something iPhone doesn’t do.
4) The App Marketplace - while far inferior an experience to actually find apps then iTunes, it more than makes up for it in the ability to sync over air. Browse on your computer and they’ll magically find their way on your phone. No 45 minute syncing sessions, and no dramatic screen animations to install..just downloads in the background.
3) Settings and Customization - There are settings galore for every app and piece of software on Android. Apple assumes that you don’t want or need all that control, but Android assumes you want to perfectly tweak. There are so many settings you’ll see things you never thought “settable.” You can do all kinds of wallpaper, setup “profiles” to change your entire phone setup in a click, or even put custom skins on your clock.
2) Change Stock Apps – While iPhone won’t let anyone touch their text, email, and phone apps, Android lets you completely replace anything on the system. With a little research, you’ll find far superior keyboard and texting apps, or even completely replace the email software. iPhone’s autocorrect is horrible, Google’s is a bit better. But you’re stuck with the iPhone one.
1) Widgets. Though Android has inferior apps to iPhone, the ability to take just the information from those apps and place it wherever you want and organize it makes them exponentially more useful. Those screens full of unused apps you’d find on iPhone are hidden on Android, and anything you need is within the swipe of a screen or right in front of you. Weather, to dos, Facebook feeds, Rdio, turn on wifi or bluetooth, etc. Widgets turn the 10 or 20 apps you actually use and makes them work for you.
Honorable Mention: Google Maps and Google Navigation. Whoa.
Android Top 5 Worst Features
5) App Chaos - Custom keyboards, widgets, and a truly unique phone setup for your use does not come without costs. Sluggish response, weird quirks, app crashes, memory hogs, always running apps – it can turn your phone into a Windows Vista-like machine if you don’t use some caution. In addition, if you use all the fancy custom apps, you’ll find yourself having to open a mountain of different programs to do everything. I have 3 different places I get text messages alone.
4) Facebook - compared to the iPhone version, which is superior to the actual website, the Droid FB app is virtually useless and you can do little in the app that you can on the site. In general, Android’s apps are vastly inferior to iPhone (checkout the Weather Channel app..ouch). On the flipside, there are way more free apps available than iPhone.
3) Battery Life – No smartphone is great on battery life, but unless you’re planning on using Android stock (in that case get an iPhone) all the good times going on in the background kill the battery. With a lot of management and the right apps, it can be minimized, but don’t be surprised if you can’t make it all day with fairly moderate use on one charge.
2) Google – The phone forces you to tie everything into your Google account, meaning everything you type, every place you go, all your contacts are visible to a company that hasn’t had the best track record on privacy. Yes, I know they said that when they collected everyone’s wifi data when making street view that was an accident.
1) Hardware and smoothness: No google phone has yet to come anywhere close to the form factor or stability of the iPhone. From the camera, to the email…they are low featured, but work very well. Google phones tend to be clunky, you can see light peeking around the edges, the touch screen isn’t as responsive, etc. You also feel like there’s a secret science behind the placement of every inch of using the iPhone. With Android it feels like they want you to have everything available, and they slam it all in there the best they can…causing plenty of mistypes, difficulty finding “send buttons” or accidentally finding a send button instead of a backspace button.
Next Blog: Must Have Android Apps
* Note: My comparisons are from having the iPhone 3GS and the HTC Droid Incredible.
The Cloud-Based iPhone..Nano? iPhone 5? Wha?
iPhone Nano’s, slide out keyboards, 4 inch screens, iPhone 5. It’s that time of year again.
Weird news from the iPhone world. While this rumor has been around for years, it’s now been “confirmed” by the Wall Street Journal, which usually means most of it’s legit.
Updated 2/18: There is no iPhone Nano Says the NY Times. But there will be a…..
Update 2/15: Now the iPhone 5 is rumored to be a 4-inch screen but using the same hardware (in a way no one else is able to do now).
Update 2/14: Why there is no way we’ll see a cloud-based iPhone Nano this year. Gizmodo
Update: iPhone 5 mania — slide out keyboard version? Mac Rumors
(note this image is only an “imagining” of what it might look like)
And after the confirmation the news kept getting odder… there will be an iPhone “nano” version that’s cheaper and smaller than the iPhone. Then it was noted it’ll be all touch screen perhaps (no home button, screen takes up almost entire face edge to edge) and now — that it’s cloud based with no onboard storage. (think iTunes streaming and MobileMe).
Some of this makes sense..to attack Android and to utilize the data megacenter Apple just built. And some of it is just a bit confusing.
I’d hope they just focused on making the iOS more innovative and feature rich like Android. They’d destroy whoever else made whatever else. They already do now with their dated mobile OS.
Time to rethink that smartphone purchase for 2011? Nah.
Click the links in the paragraphs above to get the full stories.
Atlas Shrugged Trailer Now Available
Updated: First Thoughts from The American Spectator from a sneak preview
Couldn’t have come at a better time…but is it the right movie? Filmed on a small budget but reportedly true to the original text, we’ll see. While it’s hard to tell with the just-released trailer, it is interesting to see the apparent current-day setting and the teasing as a high-stakes business drama, which may court new viewership to the Ayn Rand classic.
Looking forward to finding out “Who is John Galt” on the big screen, if nothing else. Opens in theaters April 15 (nice touch) 2011.
Atlas Shrugged, Part I Trailer
