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January 2011

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Sun 1/30/11 12:59pm #

Tech things on my mind.

Tablets
I'm interested in seeing what Apple's iPad 2 is going to be like, I'm more interested in what it will cost. I think Google's Honeycomb Android presentation will be interesting next week, but I don't think Honeycomb will be as refined overall as iPad 1. I expect iPad 2 to be even more refined than iPad 1. I think it will be at least fall before the Honeycomb tablets make any serious inroads into the consumer space, and then, only if they significantly undercut iPad's price point. It looks like Apple is going to get at least another year of reigning supreme with Tablets.

If there is one tech phrase that is going to continue to be prominent over the next year, it's: “I have an App for that.” Apple's got the apps, and it looks like iPhone and iPad are their markets to hold onto at least for one more year.

Thoughts on blogging.
You may have noticed I've been blogging a lot more this month. In late December I made additional changes to my homerolled blogging platform that really sped up the ease in which I can blog, couple that with the winter weather keeping us indoors, and the end result is a much fuller blog of links and what not. What I have noticed over the last year though is that I get almost no views on my blog at all, and this month's extra blogging hasn't changed that fact.

Two/Three years ago when twitter was really getting going, I noticed I could post a link on twitter and almost instantly all my followers would click on it and check it out. Now I post post a link on twitter and maybe 5 or 6 take a look. Either I've gotten less interesting, or people's Twitter streams have gotten busier and more interesting. I'm guessing the latter, with more and more people, and institutions that people are following there is a higher bar that now has to be reached to get someone to make a click that causes them to leave their stream. I also think more people are “doing twitter” on their phones and therefore clicking over to a website is a little less desirable as well. Follow enough people and your stream updates often enough that you don't need to leave it.

Kinect
After playing with the Kinect this past week, I removed my coffee table from the living room just to open up more space in front of the TV for it's use. To be honest, Jenn has been playing it more than I but I'm fascinated with the concept of it. It's amazing to interact with technology just by having it watch and listen to you. I'm very very interested to see what happens when Microsoft releases it's official SDK for Kinect for PC. No one develops applications for Xbox, but ther PC is very easy to develop for, and as these devices become cheaper and more accessible, I'm very interested in how this space progresses.

Check-ins
Is the check-in fad over yet? Maybe if someone comes along and makes it very easy and passive to participate in, it will creep it's way back into public view again, but of all the big new innovations for the social space of last year, this one seems to be losing the most steam for me.

NFC, RFID, spontaneous Wi-Fi Face recognition or License plate recognition etc. These sort of passive technologies might bring the Check-in back into vogue later in the year, but right now, I'm not seeing much that compels a person to actively participate.

Shutting down the Internet
Egypt shut theirs down, Lieberman wants a kill switch for ours. Every major corporation that deals in intellectual property wants a way to prohibit any non-sanctioned non-commerce participating content. Certainly computers are here to stay out. There are also great Open OS's out there and when it comes to wi-fi, it's hard to stop anyone within 350 feet or so from sharing with anyone else. But is there truly an open source network when so many of the lines are controlled by so few telcos? I saw talk both on blogs and my twitter of stock piling dial-up modems etc, and I admit that a couple days ago I did a mental check of “Where do I have my modem? Just in case?” And then I remembered I no longer have a landline. If the internet gets shut down, I guess I'm only going to be sharing files with the 2 or 3 other apartment buildings in my immediate vicinity. Or perhaps we'll all do some war driving through the neighborhood.

That's what's on my mind with tech today. What's on yours?

I want to hear your




Sun 1/30/11 12:07pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Francis Ford Coppola, copyfighter
source: Boing Boing

This idea of Metallica or some rock n' roll singer being rich, that's not necessarily going to happen anymore. Because, as we enter into a new age, maybe art will be free. Maybe the students are right. They should be able to download music and movies. I'm going to be shot for saying this. But who said art has to cost money? And therefore, who says artists have to make money?
Interesting.

If ad agencies did birthday parties


If you work in marketing or advertising. You'll love this.

- Facebook statuses may become ads without any opt-out
source: BetaNews.Com

Our whole system goes round and round on generating transactions whereby more and more people get some kindof cut. Now you have people wanting to make money on a person simply telling their friends in a status update: "I'm at McDonald's now". Is that too much? Do corporations really need to be working that hard to find a way to get their cut from such a "social" transaction? Sigh.

- What We Can Learn From Megachurches
source: Big Think

Interesting thoughts on Megachurch structure. Video.

- From Papyrus to iPad: The Evolution of Reading
source: Big Think

Interesting. Video.

- Why You Cant Escape the Internet
source: Big Think

Video.

- Three Technologies That Changed Our Brains
source: Big Think

Video.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 10:04pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Rockin' Batman logo -- BB Flickr pool
source: Boing Boing

Nice.

- Batgirl and Supergirl
source: Super Punch

Now that's cosplay that is going to burn a permanent home in your brain.

- Watch TV commentators in 1994 have no idea what the internet is [Video]
source: io9

This is something else. Give it a watch.


- WeSC Karmatech concept makes your shoes more social with RFID
source: Engadget

RFID in shoe, register your presence by walking onto a mat. Interesting.

- Bohemian Rhapsody and Thriller played on a ukelele
source: Super Punch

Very neat take on Thriller. Very different. Check it out.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 9:39pm #

Random Non-Sequiters

- FAAST installed. @ckarath & I have been calibrated
source: Uploads from shatteredhaven

This is Jennifer and I through the "lens" of the PC FAAST Kinect interface.

- Found a stash of cat toys - Leki is surveying his options
source: Jenn's Photostream

Pic Jennifer took of Leki today.


Let's Go Surfing
- Quote of the day | Tom Brevoort on the spinner racks of this century
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

I could spend a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy trying to get comics back onto spinner racks in 7-Elevens. But that would be a waste of resources because the reason there arent any spinner racks in 7-Elevens anymore is because they were no longer fiscally feasible. The amount of money those racks generated for the amount of space and maintenance they required was not worthwhile for that organization. All the wishing in the world on my part is not going to change that. I think its imperative for us to reach out to the youngest possible demographic and appeal to their sensibilities to draw them into this world, but I think youre going to see that through digital and animation more than traditional comic book publishing. br>Tom Brevoort

- Axe Cop: The Movie!
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

The sweetest 2 minute "trailer" you'll see today. :)

- Jill Thompson visits Riverdale
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

I've never had any interest in Archie, but I'd read an issue done in this art style. Too bad it's only "fan" art.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 9:22pm #

Let's Go Surfing



- Al Jazeera English Live for iPhone [AppOfTheDay]
source: Gizmodo

Nice Streaming App. It would be nice if more Networks did apps this simple.

- Could a U.S. government crackdown take America off the internet? [Social Control]
source: io9

First half talks about the Egyptian situation, and the second half explorers what it would take to take down the US internet.

- Joe Prados Blackest Night Character Designs. Around A Hundred Of Them.
source: Bleeding Cool

Lots and lots of drawings.

- Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed.
source: Roger Ebert\'s Journal

Really nice write-up on the problems with 3D.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 8:52pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Google to Hold Android Honeycomb Event Next Wednesday
source: Mashable!

I anticipate Post Cereal Honeycomb sales will go up over the next couple weeks.



- DC Releases The Names Of 14 Flashpoint Mini-Series, But What Is The Mystery Of The 15th Title?
source: Bleeding Cool

Seriously a crossover with 15- 3 issue mini-series? Doesn't anyone think that is excessive?

- Great Moments in Text Messaging [COMIC]
source: Mashable!

The Unicorn and Dragon one is funny.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 8:38pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Tale from the Disney World trenches, animated
source: Boing Boing


Love these rabbit videos.

- Marvel To Follow DC With Twenty Page $2.99 Price Point
source: Bleeding Cool

So with Marvel and DC going to 20 pages for regular comics priced at $2.99 that makes Adam and Comfort's 40 page Rainbow in the Dark Issue #3 quite the bargain at 99˘ doesn't it? (plus you can download the first issue for Free.)

- Professor X license plate
source: Super Punch

Nice.

- Minimalist Gmail: Easily declutter Gmail interface (Chrome)
source: MakeUseOf.com

Might need something like this if Google switches to display ads in Gmail.

- Taco Bell Uses Social Media To Ward Off PR Crisis
source: Mashable!

What crisis? Did anyone actually think Taco Bell had high quality meat to begin with?

I want to hear your



Ptw Some Green Lantern toys I got came with red/blue 3D glasses

Ptw Some Green Lantern toys I got came with red/blue 3D glasses
Flickr: Sat 01-29-11 20:14:56 -0500



Sat 1/29/11 8:00pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Tribler: A Decentralized Torrent Client To Search, Download & Share Files
source: MakeUseOf.com

Haven't tried. but looks interesting.

- It Didnt Win A Thing. But It Did Do A Fun Intro. Doctor Who At The National Television Awards
source: Bleeding Cool

It's for a British award show, and has jokes about shows that I have never heard of, but hey its The Doctor, the Tardis and Doctor Who adventuring music so, like bowties, it's cool.

- Ford's intelligent vehicles communicate wirelessly, shoot hula hoops out of tailpipes (video)
source: Engadget

When I saw this Ford pic, all I could think of was that Ford must have perfected Aquaman telepathic technology.

- PirateBox: anonymous, stand-alone wireless filesharing node
source: Boing Boing

Also haven't tried, but looks interesting.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/29/11 7:33pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Interview with comiXology CEO David Steinberger
source: TFAW

This week, Digital Comics Month starts off with an interview with comiXology CEO David Steinberger. Founded in 2007 as an online comic book resource that allowed users to create Pull Lists of comics, comiXology has since expanded, offering Retailer Tools to traditional brick-and-mortar comic shops that allow their customers to pre-order comics via their websites.
Interesting interview with Comixology CEO.

- Sony reveals PlayStation Suite framework, store for Android gaming
source: Engadget

If any Android phone gets access to Playstation quality gaming, that will be a huge leap forward for the platform.


- Resistance is futile against the sweet "Star Trek Girl" song [Video]
source: io9

This is amusing in that it is the most earnest soft core 'porn' I've ever seen targeted at 14 or 15 year old geek boys.

- Rupert Murdochs “The Daily” Officially Launching Feb 2‬
source: Mashable!

The part that really sticks in my head is: if you want to launch a new News model for people embedded in an iPad culture... could you pick anyone more opposite to represent that than Rupert Murdock?

- Crowdsourced Contest Yields Green New York Apartment
source: Mashable!

Some nice minimalist floorplans.

I want to hear your



Ptw Champions Online Characters

Ptw Champions Online Characters
My and Jenn's Champions Online Character's we created last night.
Aqua Marine (Ice Powers - Son of Alien Climatologists - Uses advanced
technology to fight the forces of evil.) and Glenin (Mysterious Avenging
Archer - history Unknown)
Flickr: Fri 01-28-11 10:34:44 -0500



Thu 1/27/11 3:34pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Disney & Fox Consider Pulling Content From Hulu [REPORT]
source: Mashable!

At a certain point aren't networks just like albums on iTunes? Nobody cares about the album, they just want the one song...

Nobody cares about the network, they just want the one show.

I'm guessing that production houses will want to negotiate their own individual digital non-broadcast network deals soon too.

- YouTube Looks to Integrate Comments From Facebook & Twitter
source: Mashable!

But do I want the same comment on a video I leave on Youtube, to be the same comment I leave on Facebook?

Maybe there are two different audiences and contexts I wish to discuss the video in.

- Heavy Rain, has called for the fast track of its production.
source:

The latest scoop in Hollywood is that Warner Bros., the film studio backing the Hollywood adaptation of Quantic Dream's action-adventure
Anyone who has watched Heavy Rain would probably wonder why? You could really just run the game as is in a theater. It actually would probably be disapoinintg to distill the game down to only a 2 hour movie.

- Anthony Hopkins reveals the secret atheist message he put into The Rite [Video]
source: io9

"But Hopkins, an agnostic, was uncomfortable with his character"
Um, More uncomfortable than Hannibal Lecter?

- Quote of the day | Steve Niles on supporting creator-owned work
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

“Can I say something Ive wanted to say for a long time? If you like something, tell your friends. If you love it, tell the world. But if you hate something, just throw it away, dont buy it again and move on. We spend way too much time tearing shit down. I just want to try the other direction for a while.”
So then no review = bad review? Personally I find 3 states more information dense than two. ie: 2 states: (good review = good, no review = bad or no review) 3 states: (good review = good, no review = not reviewed, bad review = bad)

I want to hear your




Thu 1/27/11 12:42pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- comiXology to let retailers sell digital comics
source: The BEAT

To paraphrase a commenter on the above post, "That's like asking a turkey to participate in Thanksgiving."

Nice for Comixology to try and get brick and mortar stores to help promote it's comics. And if you really like your brick and mortar store, I guess you might feel good them getting a few cents on each of your digital comic purchases. But with tablets and ereaders ramping up in popularity, ain't going to be many people going to the stores to pick up the paper issues in a few years. Those stores better have good merchandise and gaming businesses.

Comics aren't going away, but they will be going digital, and soon.

I want to hear your




Thu 1/27/11 11:44am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Google begins censoring BitTorrent, RapidShare and other Big Media profanity
source: Engadget

It's one thing to stop autocompleting certain objectionable words... It's quite another when you stop autocompleting company Brand Names. This starts to move Google from a Search engine to a curated list in my opinion.

- The How-To Geek Video Guide to Using Windows 7 Speech Recognition
source: the How-To Geek

This is really cool. I had no idea this was in there and worked as well as it does.

- SoCal mall installs 'Find Your Car' kiosks in parking garage to help you find your car -- and others find you?
source: Engadget

Interesting. What seems like a consumer benefit actually turns into a real world cookie. OCR the licenseplate and you now have a unique identifier for each person/car that enters your mall parkinglot. Tie that licenseplate to other data and you can do a 4 square style check-in rewards program. Neat. Creepy. But Neat.

I want to hear your




Wed 1/26/11 8:44pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Homemade Oreo Cookie Recipe
source: Instructables: exploring - featured

Looks easy and tasty. Need to try these.


- VideoJS HTML5 Video Player with Pure CSS Skins
source: WebAppers

Interesting.

- This Is the State of the Web Right Now [Humor]
source: Gizmodo

Oatmeal is usually good, this one is better than most.

I want to hear your




Wed 1/26/11 1:17pm #

Random Non-Sequiters

- 678/365 - State of the Union Bingo!
source: Jennifer\'s 365 Project

Jenn's blog post on State of the Union Night yesterday. Often I think I should just repost Jenn's blog on mine and add: Ditto. Difference between her night and mine was, that while she was on Dance Central, I was helping out Adam and Comfort with a few things on their website for the release of Rainbow in the Dark #3.

I want to hear your




Wed 1/26/11 12:08pm #

I...

I like to spend time with Jennifer. I like to pay my bills and rent. I like to buy and play with tech toys. I like to design/make/create things of value, if they solve problems people have, all the better. I'm big on the golden rule. I like design. I can endlessly read/watch/listen/surf content and learn things on the internet. I like my cat/ferret/bird. Comics/Sci-fi etc is cool because it helps you imagine a future you can build.

I want to hear your




Mon 1/24/11 12:56pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Wizard World Inc. Goes Public
source: Bleeding Cool

That's an unexpected turn... I'd be surprised if this works out well. I think a "digital" magazine will have the same low interest as a print magazine given Wizard's subject matter. Magazines still do not typically break news, and companies don't give you news to break unless you can deliver an audience.

Wizard World's cons are pretty universally poorly reviewed as well. And I think they are set to expect a bit of an implosion as far as those go too, as people order more online and ebay continues to dominate the used market.

Time will tell.

I want to hear your




Mon 1/24/11 12:42pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Smallville about to get a “boost”: Eric Martsolf to guest star as Booster Gold.
source: Blog@Newsarama

A Booster Gold Episode, cool. Time travel on smallville is usually interesting.

- IDWs Webber: Digital and print are different audiences
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Interesting. This will be a neat industry to watch over this next year. As of yet there has not been a single "breakout" digital only comic book that crosses into the mass consciousness . I'm not sure if 2011 will have that type of book, but I'm pretty sure we'll get something by 2012 that goes viral and causes everyone with an iPad or Android tablet to dowwnload the free Comixology App (or something similiar) and just pump out downloads of something. And when Digital comics gets it's first "Harry Potter" moment, I'm guessing it will catch the print companies off balance... I think when the mass market grabs onto comics on tablets, it's going to grab onto something that isn't quite exactly what Marvel and DC are making right now, and that new market will likely eclipse entirely in course of a few months what the print market is now. It's going to be interesting times.

I want to hear your




Mon 1/24/11 11:51am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Confession #93: Im Only Socially Isolated When Were Together
source: Tweetage Wasteland

Internet users biggest social challenge is that were Internet users. We came. We saw. We checked-in. We Tweeted. We Facebooked. We Podcasted. We Instagrammed. We left. And we went home and got online.

- SCOOP: Wizard Magazine To Close Immediately
source: Bleeding Cool

Not surprising, the magazine had gotten smaller and smaller over the years. Add in the fact that the internet often breaks the very content that Wizard Magazine tries to break by opening the issues first and there's really no News or PR function that the magazine can really get in front of. That would leave Wizard only doing in depth coverage, but when the leading books are generally not selling even 90K copies, there probably isn't much of a mass market for indepth articles.

I think, News in print's days are numbered across the board, not just in niche magazines.

I want to hear your




Mon 1/24/11 12:04am #

Let's Go Surfing

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 4:56pm #

Random Non-Sequiters

- 675/365 - Kinect
source: Jennifer's 365 Project

Jenn and I got a Kinect this weekend. See her post above.

Let's Go Surfing

- Rainbow: Issue #3 almost done!
source: Blog: Adam and Comfort\'s Blog

Coming Soon!

- Super 8 video: Angelus
source: The iPhoneography Blog

This guy made this on an iPhone.

- The $300 Action Movie [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Lazy Teenage Superheroes. Ha.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 4:35pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Seened on the internets. Cool ring.

- New in the AFi Archive DC Retro-Action John Stewart
source: Action Figure Insider - Best Toy News on the Web!

Cool.

- How To Quickly Find Your Email Attachments In Gmail
source: MakeUseOf.com

has:attachment This one filters emails to only those that have anything attached.
has:attachment doc This one filters emails to only those that have .doc files attached.
There are more tips, but the above will probably be what I use in the search window more often than not now.

- Stephen Colbert on Limbaugh's ching-chong moment
source: Boing Boing

Video at the link.

- Preparations for alien contact
source: Boing Boing

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 4:24pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Will Britain Spoil Fantastic Four #587 First?
source: Bleeding Cool

Seriously, who cares. They are fictional characters, they can't really die and if anyone thinks a Disney owned company is going to permanently lay to rest an integral character from their Fantastic Four Intellectual Property... that person is an idiot.


- Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane
source: Super Punch

Nice Photoshop.

- Suffering Sappho! Wonder Woman TV show to air on NBC [Television]
source: io9

A mere two weeks after every network passed on it, David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman has been lassoed in by NBC. The pilot features Diana Prince as a harried crime fighter/corporate executive saving Los Angeles from itself.

That doesn't really sound like Wonder Woman though.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 4:12pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Guitar Army
source: Likecool

Cool short clip.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 3:58pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Micro DSLR With Interchangeable Lenses
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia

This little digital camera with interchangeable lenses is adorably cool.


- VIDEO: Aaron Sorkin Talks About His Directorial Debut, The Politician, And His New HBO Series
source: Bleeding Cool

[blockquote] Aaron Sorkin is currently working on two projects: a feature film called The Politician, based on a non-fiction book about John Edwards, the former Democratic nominee for Vice President; and a TV series about the behind-the-scenes goings on at a US cable news station. Two new wheels right in his wheelhouse. [/blockquote]
Yes! finally... What Studio 60 should have been!

- Is the CD finally dead? Sony closes its huge New Jersey plant
source: DVICE

So music is just a temporal thing that gets copied through the ether bit by byte with no physical form now then?

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 3:33pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- DC Comics Solicitations For September 2011
source: Action Figure Insider - Best Toy News on the Web!

A month without DC Direct Action figures. Bummer.

- My nightmare buying a generic Android tablet
source: DVICE

Interesting article. I can see where this guys preconceptions got him disapointed. Whenever you import something that isn't commerically available in the states, you really need to prepare yourself that there are going to be some trade offs with dabbling in the fringe though. For me that's part of the fun, but if your not into tinkering... well you pretty much get the above.


- 672/365 - Hot Chocolate and SotS
source: Jennifer's 365 Project

I really like this shot that Jenn took.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 3:11pm #

Let's Go Surfing



- $99 concept NoteSlate tablet does electronic ink in color, but only one at a time
source: Engadget

this looks cool. Saves your scribbles to an image on SD card.




- Angry Birds To Become an Animated Series
source: Mashable!

But will it be relevant by the time this comes to air?

- I May Cry Because This Beautiful Concept Phone Will Probably Never Become Real [Video]
source: Gizmodo

The young male actors have a little bit too nice, and too modern of hair for a medieval story. Soundtrack in this trailer is awful too.

- Google to Launch Groupon Competitor [EXCLUSIVE]
source: Mashable!

Groupon, Living Social, now Google Offers? How many of these emails do you really want coming to your inbox every morning? Someone is going to need to step up and aggregate these sites.

- XBMC comes to the new Apple TV, we go hands-on (video)
source: Engadget

Seems like a pretty good idea to run something like this on a $99 box.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 2:43pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Flashpoint To Retitle And Renumber All Manner Of DC Titles
source: Bleeding Cool

It's things like this that remind me why I read so few comics any more.


- First look at the retro-1960s mutants of X-Men: First Class [Movies]
source: io9

I fear, this will be horrible.


- Precorder for iPhone [Video]
source: Gizmodo

This is a neat program, it's like a DVR of sorts for life. When you launch the program it starts recording to a buffer. Whenever you hit the record button it starts recording up to 10 seconds in the past. ie, it starts recording but adds the previous 10 seconds of video it has held in it's buffer to the front of your shot. No more missing the action because it happen after you press the button, you get some of the action that happens before you press record too.

- How to Publish Your Book on Amazon Kindle [Ebooks]
source: io9

Nice step by step.

- WizKids to Make Lord of the Rings Heroclix
source: Action Figure Insider - Best Toy News on the Web!


- Rumor: more tablet details emerge: Touchstone, size, features
source: PreCentral.net

I love Palm, I love WebOS, it's a great OS that does alot of things better than Apple's iOS. And WebOS is far more mature than Android. But WebOS doesn't have hardly any apps that are worth anything. So unless this tablet is going to be in the $100-$150 range. It's just not going anywhere, because that's all someone is going to pay for a tablet that pretty much can only be used to surf the net and check email.

- Wheego's so-called Whip LiFe delayed, supposedly still coming soon
source: Engadget

Would love a little car like this but for $33K? um no, Can get a couple realy nice used cars for that.

- RLP: Pikachu
source: Likecool


I want to hear your




Sun 1/23/11 1:49pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Should You Work for Free? [Chart]
source: Gizmodo

Humor, any freelancer should check this out.


- Scientists hope to clone a woolly mammoth within four years
source: DVICE

That will be pretty cool.

- Darren Aronofsky's Batman reboot idea coming to comics — and then possibly movies [Bat-rumor Patrol]
source: io9

The below sums up beautifully what the mainstream views the usefulness of comics for.
It hasn't really been announced, I don't know if I should give you the scoop! But we're getting there. We're doing a comic book of a script that's really hard to make and we're going to do a comic version first and see what happens... It seems like if you come up with an original script, in Hollywood it's not as effective as a comic book. It doesn't even have to be successful as a comic; I mean how successful were Kick-Ass or Scott Pilgrim? Those were fringe comics, right, and they were basically turned in to big pictures.


- Family Guy recreates The Incredible Hulk TV intro shot-for-shot [Video]
source: io9

This is what I don't get about Family Guy. This is shot for shot, no real twist, the amusement is supposed to come from the fact that the roles are depicted as the Family guy characters? sigh.

- Confirmed: The new Spider-Man won't have organic web-shooters! [Movies]
source: io9

As a comic fan, I'm glad they are doing the mechanical web shooters, but as a person, really was the Toby Macquire 2002 Spider-man that long ago? Do we really need a remake/restart/origin retelling of this character?

- HP Launches Live Improv Comedy Show on YouTube
source: Mashable!

But why would I want to associate comedy with web enabled printers? HP Youtube site

- New Video App: Movie Stiller, Video Stabilization for iPhone
source: The iPhoneography Blog

Neat video app to help with "shakeycam" issues.

- Every Comedy Podcast Worth Listening To [Comedy]
source: Gizmodo

I'll have to check some of these out.

I want to hear your



Ptw I may not be building these right

Ptw I may not be building these right
Mis-mash of build a figure parts
Flickr: Sun 01-23-11 12:47:58 -0500



Sat 1/22/11 11:18am #

Things I've learned playing Microsoft Xbox Kinect for 45 minutes.

1. I thought I had a decent sized living room, but apparently according to microsoft it's probably only half the size it needs to be.

2. Kinect Sports in Party mode - who really cares about the game, its fun just to rock out and dance to their poppy soundtracks.

3. You can select a Cardboard robot with legs as your team character. Cool.

4. Talking to your game console is fun. Saying "Xbox Kinect Open Tray" and having the disk tray slide open is cool.

5. Video playback hightlight real at end is very cool, but feeling like I have to shower, comb my hair and change out of my PJs before playing a video game, because I'm being recorded, not so cool.

I want to hear your



Ptw Someone REALLY wanted to come out and watch TV with us

Ptw Someone REALLY wanted to come out and watch TV with us
Flickr: Fri 01-21-11 19:36:19 -0500



Sun 1/16/11 8:34pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Attack of the Killer Hamster
source: Neatorama



That's one badass hamster.

- Star Wars Trench Run through Shoveled Snow
source: Neatorama

Short Video. But worth it.

- Rainbow in the Dark Circle
source: deviantART: gallery:AdamWithers/636708

Nice composition of the lead characters. Get the book here.

- Revoltech Skeleton Pics
source: thefwoosh.com

Nice shots, nice 5.5" figure review.

- Giant Snow Ramp
source: Instructables: exploring - featured

this looks like it would void your home owners insurance somehow.

- Why You Should Never, Ever Use Two Spaces Between Sentences
source: Technology :: The Atlantic

One Space.

- 11 hand stamped business cards:
source: oh, hello friend: you are loved.

Very cool idea. Except i'd want to just carry around the stamp and when someone wanted my business card, I'd just stamp whatever scrap of paper or receipt etc that was lying around and say... there you go.

- Reminder:
source: Every Day Is Like Wednesday


- RSS: A Reply
source: camen design

Good Stuff.

- Did You Know It Costs More Than a Penny to Make a Penny? [Money]
source: Gizmodo

I've always thought this argument was dumb since it costs less than nickle to make a nickle and less than a dime to make a dime and less than a quarter to make a quarter. It seems like it would average out in the governments favor for the most part.


- TooManyTabs Turns Your Firefox Into A Task Management Powerhouse
source: MakeUseOf.com

Interesting. I'm trying it out.


- The X-Men Family Tree by Joe Stone
source: Bleeding Cool

"And this is why they fail" :)

I want to hear your




Sun 1/16/11 7:30pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Plush Tron, Space Ghost, and Venom
source: Super Punch

Cool format for homemade plush characters.

- Plush Rorschach
source: Super Punch

Cutest Rorschach ever.

- Shaun White paper toy
source: Super Punch

Normally you see these papertoys as pure square shapes. Having a simple more triangular shape really makes a big difference on these.

- A culture of testing
source: Seth\'s Blog
Netflix tests everything. They're very proud that they A/B test interactions, offerings, pricing, everything. It's almost enough to get you to believe that rigorous testing is the key to success.

Except they didn't test the model of renting DVDs by mail for a monthly fee.

And they didn't test the model of having an innovative corporate culture.

And they didn't test the idea of betting the company on a switch to online delivery.

The three biggest assets of the company weren't tested, because they couldn't be.

Sure, go ahead and test what's testable. But the real victories come when you have the guts to launch the untestable.

- Google Translate Brings Star Treks Universal Translator One Step Closer [News]
source: MakeUseOf.com

Very cool. Will be even cooler when they integrate something like this into Twitter.

- How To Organize Your Clothes With Your PC
source: MakeUseOf.com

Not that I'm big into clothes, but I am big into computer programs for home organization etc. This idea of photographing all my clothes into a database has always appealed to me, but never so much that I wanted to take the time to do it.

- Getaround app turns you into Enterprise, lets your rent out your dormant car
source: Engadget

This sortof peer to peer loaning of items, once organized seems like it will be a powerful concept. Article above or view the site directly.

- The Doctors Daughter To Have The Doctors Daughter
source: Bleeding Cool

The Doctor who is marrying his own daughter, who is actually the daughter of the earlier doctor is going to have a daughter with the his daughter daughter. Or something like that. I think the time continuum just exploded. If this kid ever grows up to be an actress, she would be an excellent candidate to play the first female Doctor I think.

- Quote of the day | Mark Millar on digital comics
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Mark Millar

Okay, Im loving the fact that Millarworld books account for 8 of the top 10 downloads in 2010. Thats cool, but what superficially looks like a great deal for creators is less so under a little scrutiny. Yes, youre eliminating paper, printing, comic store and distributor costs, but theres hidden costs here I havent seen highlighted anywhere.

1/ Apple take 30% right off the bat. 2/ In the case of Wanted, Comixology then splits 50/50 with the publisher. 3/ Then the publisher pays the agent and creative team out of the remaining cash depending on their deal.

In hard numbers, the digital comic is normally half the price of the paper comic, but you have just as many percentages to pay out as a creative team to an electronic distributor and publisher. So effectively the creative team is getting half as much money. For creators, this isnt great and for comic stores this is awful. I dont mind paying thirty percent to a local store where my friends work and the guys care about the product. But do I want this money going to Apple?

- The Daily Show
source: iotacons



Cool.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/16/11 5:06pm #

Green Hornet

Here is my brief commentary after seeing the Green Hornet:

I want to hear your



Ptw Leki sitting on stool

Ptw Leki sitting on stool
Flickr: Sun 01-16-11 13:35:36 -0500


Ptw Leki laying on stool

Ptw Leki laying on stool
Flickr: Sun 01-16-11 13:33:01 -0500


Ptw Chocolate Cake

Ptw Chocolate Cake
Flickr: Sun 01-16-11 13:17:31 -0500



Sun 1/16/11 12:20pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- YouTube now supports drag-and-drop uploading thanks to HTML5
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia

Works well.

- Farewell to Coupon Clipping? New Location-Enabled Grocery Coupons Alert You at the Store
source: ReadWriteWeb

Interesting in that it alerts you to offers while in the store. But Center aisle and endcap displays do this as well. There is still a finite amount of attention. If I'm looking at my phone, I'm probably not seeing the displays and advertising around me in the real world either

- Satarii Star camera base follows your every move, might exist if the money's raised
source: Engadget

Looks interesting except for the fact that generally I wouldn't want to film video in portrait mode.




- Flaming C custom action figure
source: Super Punch

Cool.

- $129.90 - 7" Touch Screen LCD Google Android 2.1 Tablet PC w/ WiFi/Camera/HDMI/TF/2*Mini USB (ARM11 800MHz)
source: DealExtreme New Arrivals

Looks worth it if you want a cheap Android tablet to tinker around with.

- Diamond puts Borders on hold
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

So soon we'll have one national Electronics Chain: Best Buy and one national Book Store: Barnes and Noble.

- Catwoman by Bengal
source: Super Punch

Nice.

- Ikea hamster home
source: Boing Boing

I want to hear your




Sun 1/16/11 11:29 am #

Let's Go Surfing

- ArtPro Nail Printer V6.1 hands-in (video)
source: Engadget

Interesting.

- Free Video Converter freeware offers cool photo, video and audio conversion
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia

Looks simple enough.

- Gigabyte shows off its new S1080 Windows 7 slate in Taiwan to little fanfare and even less excitement
source: Engadget

At > $300 this looks like it would be a very nice device. It's full Win 7 so I imagine battery life and boot time would be slow, but looks useful if there are Windows Apps you'd love to run on a tablet. (One note. It has a capacitive touchscreen which in this case might limit it's usefulness as an art or notetaking device?)

- Red Skull Concept Art From Captain America: The First Avenger…?
source: Bleeding Cool

The thing that I'm finding disturbing so far is that they seem to be replacing the Nazi symbol with a symbol of the Red Skull. So it's to the point where if you do a WWII story you can't show Nazi symbols?


- Calme: Create Beautiful Planners & Calendars
source: MakeUseOf.com

Article above. actual download site here.

- If You Got Three Minutes, Watch 3 Minutes [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Stupid but hey, it's a lightsaber battle.

- First trailer for Starz's Camelot[Video]
source: io9

Doesn't look very good, but I like Camelot type stuff, so I'll probably watch a little of it.


I want to hear your



Ptw Lunch - Little hot dogs in crecents with rice and chili for dipping

Ptw Lunch - Little hot dogs in crecents with rice and chili for dipping
Flickr: Sat 01-15-11 13:08:14 -0500


Ptw Poor over worked work network won't let my netbook on

Ptw Poor over worked work network won't let my netbook on
Flickr: Fri 01-14-11 12:10:37 -0500



Sun 1/09/11 7:12pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Obama administration moves forward with unique internet ID for all Americans, Commerce Department to head system up
source: Engadget

I'm going to assume that this story is just a tech blogger poorly divining something from some low level government document that really doesn't have a snowball chance in hell of actually becoming anything real.

- Law and Order: Animal Victims Unit
source: Super Punch

Odd.

- Central America.
source: Likecool

Amusing.

- Smiley Face Spy Cam
source: Likecool

Who Watches the Watchmen?

- Stop motion film made with match box cars
source: Likecool

Neat. Watch stop motion tilt-shift video of actual matchbox cars.

- Vyne - Handfree Viewing For the iPhone
source: Likecool

This looks kindof useful.

- 40 Things You Need to Watch in 2011
source: Mashable!

Most of these types of lists this time of year suck. But this list of lists is actually pretty good.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 1:19pm #

Rockford Ice Festival

Jennifer and I went to the 2nd Annual Rockford Ice Festival. It was a Cold but Sunny day. And for the most part, the Ice Sculptures we're pretty small and mostly the sort of thing you'd see at a wedding or a business conference centerpiece. Lots of people though. Some video I shot below:


Jenn's blog post on the day below:

- 661/365 - Rockford Ice Festival
source: Jennifer\'s 365 Project

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 1:18pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Apple Pulls VLC from the iOS App Store [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Headline is a little misleading. The creators of the App pulled it actually because Apple wraps every App in abit of DRM of sorts when you download an App and that violated VLCs GPL terms or something like that.

- Windows Phone 7 using lots of 3G data while idle, even on WiFi?
source: Engadget

"That's how you know its Windowsďż˝."

- What Exactly is a Business Model?
source: TechCrunch


- Best comic book character cosplay of 2010
source: Super Punch



Now that we have the "Skittle" Corps. This is the sort of thing we'll have at Cons from now on. Sigh.

- Ion Book Saver hands-on
source: Engadget


MSRP is set at $149 and availability is coming in June at places like Barnes & Noble, Staples, and Office Depot.

Really interesting device. I'm guessing there will be alot more comics and magazines online after this hits the mass market retailers above.

I'll likely get one of these myself, although to be honest, I can't think of a whole lot that I'd really have the patience to use this with.

More about the ION Booksaver on the manufacturer's website.


- WinScan2PDF V1.26
source: The Portable Freeware Collection



- Gotham High
source: Bleeding Cool

Thank God that this never went anywhere or got made.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 12:29pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- DC Universe Classics The Class of 2010
source: thefwoosh.com



Nice overview of all 2010 DC Classics figures as well as the above 2006-2010 Giant Class Photo.

- Green Lantern Classics Series 2 Early Production Pics
source: ActionFigurePics.com

Will be a very cool set.
The wave will include:
  • Green Lanterns Sodam Yat, and Nautkeiloi /Medphyll with interchangeable heads
  • Star Sapphire
  • Red Lanterns Night Lik / Skallox with interchangeable parts
  • A 3-pack of pack-in sized Lanterns Dex-Starr, Bdg, and Despotellis
  • Green Lantern Ghu from the Green Lantern movie
  • Connect and Collect Stel

- Watch live sports from on the field with Japan's 3D VR tech
source: DVICE



Forget Soccer, let's get some World of Warcraft or something similar projected live on a football field.

- Costume study of Batman by artist [Paul Pope]. Scanned from the...
source: Hey Oscar Wilde!

Paul Pope Hipster Batman. doesn't exactly inspire fear in the Hearts of Criminals, but still looks neat.

- Cloud 9 Comix iPad app released!

This is a cool thing because you can get Adam and Comfort's The Uniques and Rainbow in the Dark thru this service. I haven't tried it myself yet, but it looks cool.

- Fast Food Ads versus Reality
source: The Everyday Minimalist

These Advertising vs. Real photo comparisons come out every so often. This is a good one. I would ad though that even without the adversting, the "idea" or "picture in your brain" of a McDonalds hamburger probably looks better than reality if you like such a thing. There's really no way to post that "idea" to the web though. Point being, don't get too uppity with the advertisers, since there are plenty of things that look better in your head than reality too.

- Found Pic: Little Girl Needs a Kitten



Great image. Author unknown.

- Doctor Marries Doctor's Daughter, TARDIS Explodes
source: Slashdot

techmuse writes "In a veritable Who's Who of Doctor Who, 10th Doctor David Tennant is marrying Georgia Moffett, the daughter of 5th Doctor Peter Davison, who played the Doctor's daughter in an episode of Doctor Who. Except that the Doctor's daughter was a clone of the Doctor, which meant that she really was Who. So a newer Doctor is marrying an older Doctor's daughter, who is a clone of the newer doctor, but only has half the DNA of the older Doctor."


Oh and here's a neat little webcomic someone did with all 11 Doctors



- Josh Groban Sings Kanye Wests Tweets On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live
source: Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com



This is really brilliant. Watch it!

- Worlds Most Stylish Otaku Room?
source: Culture Japan - Your portal to Japan : Main Feed

Very nice anime apartment. Lots of pictures. (The shear number of anime girl body pillows are a little creepy though. just sayin.)

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 11:47am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Play "Angry Birds" - The Board Game
source: Mashable!

This has great office desktop kitsch value, but waiting til May, sounds like they are going to miss the boat on their "cool window". Seems hard to think that Angry Birds will still be the cultural phenom it currently is 5 months from now.

- App Update: ToonPAINT
source: The iPhoneography Blog

I've posted this before, but I think this is a great iPhone App.

- Jeff On Infinite Earths
source: Bleeding Cool

Cool how many comics this guy has had himself drawn into.

- A Paintbrush Stylus for the iPad [VIDEO]
source: Mashable!

See the quick video at the link. Looks interesting.

- Zen-Style Listing And Projects With WorkFlowy
source: MakeUseOf.com

If they get an iOS app, I could see trying this. (Although, I imagine there probably is an iOS app already that functions like this, if I really dug for one.


- Weather.com Text Alerts
source: Boing Boing

I just use a weather app, but if you like having the info pushed to you, this is interesting.

- How to make a seat for less than 8 Eur in less than 4 min.
source: Instructables: exploring - featured

This looks like a neat thing to make and have on hand for the next time one has to wait in a long line.

- Getting to work with new web technologies
source: WebAppers

This is a really nice clearly written article on HTML5 and CSS3.

- Creating a Twitter OAuth Application
source: WebAppers

Really nice step by step on creating a Twitter OAuth App. At some point, I'd love to do some sort of twitter integration with my blog along these lines.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 11:04am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Looxcie introduces LooxcieLive, enables mobile-to-mobile stream viewing
source: Engadget

There is some video at the link. Neat camera. I like the connected to your smartphone nature of this device. While stylish, this device doesn't look to be very inconspicuous though.


- Mac App Store hands-on
source: Engadget

After having owned the iPod Touch for a couple months now. This whole App store concept is really growing on me.

- AT&T selling iPhone 3GS for $50 starting tomorrow
source: Engadget

This is pretty huge. Lower data plan pricing too.
Requires new 2-year wireless voice agmt of $39.99 or higher with min $15/mo plan. Subject to wireless customer agrmt. Internal roaming rates or charges apply. Credit approval req'd.

- Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Television in 2011 [Video]
source: io9

Very nice round up of Genre television.

- Maybe We Need Christopher Nolan to Reboot Ghostbusters [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Ghostbusters/Inception Music Mashup. Nice.



- Don't hold your breath for the big Superman/Batman movie crossover [Batman]
source: io9



It's too bad Warner Bros. can't get this done. But given their track record, I also imagine it would be a legal nightmare for them.

- Use Your New Baby as an Excuse to Buy an iPhone and Smart Baby Monitor [Baby Monitors]
source: Gizmodo

This looks like a cool gadget, not sure what I'd use it for, but like the Looxsie, I like the idea of mobile cameras that can broadcast to a smart phone.

- The Best New Tablet [BestOfTheBest]
source: Gizmodo

Gizmodo round up. Honestly most of them looked the same to me. For the mostpart they are all screens with black frames. That said, I do like the idea behind the Asus slider keyboard one.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/09/11 9:18am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Xfinity iPad app getting streaming update 'in the coming weeks,' Android app 'later this year'
source: Engadget

This is a nice App now, and it's nice to see Comcast adding more to it.


- We go games on with PrimeSense's Kinect for PCs
source: DVICE

Lots of possibilities if this can be brought out for PC for cheap.

- Our First Look At Andrew Garfield As Peter Parker
source: Bleeding Cool

I don't know. This Peter Parker actor looks more suited to killing Tuscan Raider Families or a group of Younglings, than donning the Spider-man suit. Is this the Spider-man movie where Hollywood takes Spider-man from the geeks and "properly" remakes him over as a stylish pseudo-jock hipster?

- Xi3's Z3RO terminal connects with Modular Computer, kills the need for another PC
source: Engadget

hmmm... at $350 (more than the price of a low end PC) I'm not sure how you kill the need for another PC.

- Skype announces plans to acquire Qik
source: Engadget

Lately Skype seems to be transitioning from established background utility to potential disruptive innovator. Go Skype!

- Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets: a guided tour of the UI (video)
source: Engadget

The sparkly more Tron-like video they showed earlier was one thing, but this straight forward tour video above is a little less impressive. It very much looks like something that was designed for the Bridge of the Enterprise for and by engineers as opposed to a more mainstream, well-rounded OS. IMHO, Android Honeycomb probably won't hold back the Tsunami that will likely be iPad 2 when it's announced/released.


I want to hear your



Ptw Quick cup of cereal for Jenn before we go

Ptw Quick cup of cereal for Jenn before we go
Flickr: Sat 01-08-11 12:13:00 -0500



Sat 1/08/11 11:27am #

Random Non-Sequiters

This was something Jennifer made that she posted on her blog awhile back. I thought it was an amusing use of the iOS Comic Strip program.



- We made My First Bacon more festive today
source: Uploads from shatteredhaven

A plush Bacon Jenn got me at Christmas.

Let's Go Surfing
- Green Lantern Classics Wave 1
source: ActionFigurePics.com

Cool Pics.


- BigImg: Easily Embed Oversized Images On Your Website
source: MakeUseOf.com

Interesting.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/08/11 10:55am #

Let's Go Surfing


- IRISnotes Digital Pen
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia

It's neat how small these are getting. I have an older one of these type of devices. Never was really that practical.


- Daytum iPhone App
source: Cool Hunting

This looks like a really cool iOS app. Although at the moment I can't think of anything I need to track on a daily or hourly basis.

- The Justice League Of Pint Glasses
source: Bleeding Cool


- Three of Our Favorite Time Management Solutions
source: Unplggd

This post-it note desktop calendar is a neat idea.

- Planely, the Social Network for Strangers Flying Together. What? [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Watch the video. This is just a really really creepy seeming social service.

- RSS Is Dying Being Ignored, and You Should Be Very Worried
source: camen design

Mozilla's plans to hide the orange RSS icon sound like a bad idea to me.

- $2.99 across the line, new letter columns, Milligan on Red Lanterns top DC announcement onslaught
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Nice to see Green Lantern out in front on all the various DC promotional pieces lately (primarilly because of success of Blackest Night and the upcoming movie I imagine.) But this temporary Wonder Woman costume with the black pants is just terrible. Also DC slowly removing the underwear outside the pants (Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, etc. )is a bad design choice too.


I want to hear your




Sat 1/08/11 10:06am #

Some videos that I forgot to include on my blog last week.
They were tweeted though.

1/3/11 Winter Walk on Kent Trails



1/3/11 Squirrel on balcony

I want to hear your



Ptw iOS Corel Paint It Now App Leki

Ptw iOS Corel Paint It Now App Leki
Flickr: Fri 01-07-11 23:26:22 -0500



Fri 1/07/11 10:24pm #

Dinah

I want to hear your



Ptw Another Leki picture

Ptw Another Leki picture
Flickr: Fri 01-07-11 19:07:23 -0500


Ptw Hanging out with Leki

Ptw Hanging out with Leki
Flickr: Fri 01-07-11 18:36:40 -0500


Ptw OMG there's actually a native image app on Pre now

Ptw OMG there's actually a native image app on Pre now
It's very DOS like but Image Worker does let you resize, do sepia, black and white, crop and do some rudimentary bluring and edge detection on Palm Pre.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre
Flickr: Thu 01-06-11 21:36:40 -0500


Ptw Feeling a bit wired tonight

Ptw Feeling a bit wired tonight
Flickr: Thu 01-06-11 21:16:57 -0500


Ptw Leki on top of couch

Ptw Leki on top of couch
Flickr: Wed 01-05-11 19:11:54 -0500



Mon 1/03/11 11:10pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- More Green Lantern Toys - G'hu And Rot Lop Fan
source: Bleeding Cool

Two more Green Lantern action figures. I said earlier that I wasn't sure I really wanted to get anything in the 3.75" size. But F-Sharp Bell? Seriously? That can't be passed up.

Plus there's this guy:

I want to hear your



Ptw Frankenstein Build a figure

Ptw Frankenstein Build a figure
Haven't been getting full sets, so I have alot of Build a figure pieces that are incomplete. Imperiex body and arm, Valdus arm, Brimstone and Kilowog legs, Darkseid head and lower body.
Flickr: Mon 01-03-11 18:03:46 -0500


Ptw Todays Action figures from Amazon

Ptw Todays Action figures from Amazon
Silver Banshee, Jemm, Robotman, Beast Boy
Flickr: Mon 01-03-11 18:00:09 -0500



Sun 1/02/11 9:54pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Iotacons
source: Neatorama

Neat art blog.

- Literal Snow Man
source: Neatorama

ha

- The BBC's Guide to American Culture
source: Neatorama

Interesting. Audio Podcast

- Ghost Cities of China
source: Neatorama

I've heard that they do not have property taxes in China, which is one of the things that makes this sortof thing possible.

- Samsung Galaxy Player up for pre-order at Amazon UK, Ł150 buys 8GB worth of Android Market apps
source: Engadget

No retina screen. $234 for 8GB, $280 for 16GB. Hopefully it's a little cheaper when it hits the US.

- ReadEvery: Read tweets of people you follow in an organized interface
source: MakeUseOf.com

Interesting way to stalk your own and other people's accounts.

- A first look at action figures from The Green Lantern [Toys]
source: io9

Infinite Heroes scale (3.75") figure at right. So far I've pretty much avoided getting into this scale. After flirting briefly with the Bruce Timm JLU style figures when they first came out, I've mostly stuck to the 6" figure sizes.

- UJam: An Easy Music Online Composer
source: MakeUseOf.com


- Former Shell Executive Predicts $5 a Gallon Gas Prices and a Potential Political Crisis for Obama
source: Big Think

That's odd, when a Republican (Bush) ran for reelection, gas prices went down right before the election.

- The Dating Surplus for Chinese Women
source: Big Think

Interesting.

I want to hear your




Sun 1/02/11 9:07pm #


Jennifer and I had Chips Ahoy Smores and Watched Season 4 of The Guild tonight. The Guild, starring Felicia Day, is a great show. I recommend any geek see it. It centers around a World of Warcraft guild and there is alot of gamer humor, but any geek who spends alot of time on the internet would appreciate it. I've read that the show is on Netflix, so if so, add it to your queue!

I want to hear your



Ptw Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Ptw Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Flickr: Sun 01-02-11 18:15:14 -0500


Ptw Jenn outside bundled up

Ptw Jenn outside bundled up
Flickr: Sun 01-02-11 16:19:40 -0500



Sun 1/02/11 1:13pm #

Let's Go Surfing

Compact Calendar 2011 | David Seah
Nice compact 2011 calendar in xls.

- Pajama jeans
source: Boing Boing


This is just begging, begging for parodies.

- Super Mario Shelves
source: Must Have Cute - Cute Kawaii Stuff


- I have found the cognitive surplus, and it hates pigs
source: Nieman Journalism Lab

I retweeted this last week, but that headline is fantastic.

- Books for Christmas?
source: The Book Bench


Ha.

- Tidings of gloom #2: Brian Hibbs
source: THE BEAT

Comic shop owner article on the state of comics.

The article quotes that there are 300,000 monthly comic buyers. The USA has a population of 310,000,000. That's a small percentage of the population.

- 2010: The year in digital comics
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Nice month by month recap of news.

- In Case of Nothing to Do...
source: Neatorama

ha.

- Tron - Buzz Enters the Grid
source: Neatorama

Most of these have been cheezy but this one is pretty good.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 7:19pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Add a Thin Stand-Up Table for Ultraportables
source: Unplggd

Add in some wireless charging (or wired charging slots) and I think they're on to something.

- DIY a Radiator Cover from IKEA Antonius Shoe Racks
source: Unplggd

Have I blogged this already? Don't know, but I think I'll totally make some of these chairs someday.

- Mattels New Movie-Style Hal Jordan And Tomar-Re Action Figures
source: Bleeding Cool

Not too impressed with this pic, although that ring looks nice.

- There really isn't much of a "tablet" market
source: Marco.org
Before the iPad, tablets were a tough sell:
* Very little software is designed for tablet use. Usually, touch- or stylus-input compatibility is bolted onto traditional computer OSes and applications, resulting in inconsistent and usually poor usability.
* Productivity apps are difficult on tablets because they lack physical keyboards, and substitutes (on-screen keyboards or handwriting recognition) are far less efficient for many common tasks.
* Tablets usually cost as much as low-end laptops, but are far less functional in the hands of most users.
* Their size is too large for constant carrying, so you wont always have your tablet with you - and in most situations in which youd be able to practically bring a tablet with you, you could also bring a small laptop.
This applies whether its a 7-inch or a 10-inch form factor. The recent debate about 7-inch tablets is misguided: neither one will always be in your pocket, and neither one is a full-featured laptop. Theyre in the same category of practicality and portability. Theyre two different approaches to the same problem, with nearly all of the same benefits and drawbacks.
* Tablets limitations prevent many people from replacing laptops with them, so theyre just an additional expense and yet another gadget to maintain and keep charged.

Read the full article. Lots of good thoughts on the tablet market.

- Borders halts payments to some publishers
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Well that doesn't sound good.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 6:54pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Android paper toy
source: Super Punch

I tweeted this last week. It's quick and easy to cut out and put together.


- Mashup Combines This Years Top 25 Songs [VIDEO]
source: Mashable!


Great Mashup Video.

- "World of Warcraft" Xbox Kinect = Magic [VIDEO]
source: Mashable!


Looks like too much work to me.

- Watch Some Polar Bears Adorably Destroy a Nature Show's Spy Cameras [Video]
source: Gizmodo

A co-worker tweeted this last week. Neat video. (Tennent voiceover too.)

- New I Am Number Four trailer should make Michael Bay proud [Video]
source: io9

Full of Bay-ness. Looks fairly generic otherwise. Hard to tell what it's really about.


- Mod Mjolnir: the Thor movie poster gets a 1960s retro treatment [Posters]
source: io9

Nice fan made Thor poster. Very Parker/Darwyn Cooke-like.

- 4 Predictions for Web Design in 2011
source: Mashable!

Saw this via @p2wy twitter and also in feed last week.

- Watch the YouTube Video That Ebert Deemed Oscar-Worthy [Video]
source: Gizmodo


I don't really think Oscar worthy fits as it there is no story, but as a collection of SLR type video scenes, it's very nice. *Except I feel bad for the dog.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 4:59pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- Sunshine [Video]
source: Gizmodo

Neat Sci-Fi special effects short video. With making of video.

- Free Kindle Books: A Guide
source: Mashable!


- Bruce Sterling on #cablegate
source: Boing Boing

I tweeted this a week or so ago, but I'll repost here. Bruce Sterling does a nice job in this piece using Wikileaks as a springboard for discussing some of the realities of today's connected digital world. Some neat ideas and analysis in here.

- Filmography 2010: 270 movies mixed into one 6 min video
source: Boing Boing


Nice overview of 2010 movies all in one 6 min mashup.

- Facebook World Map
source: Boing Boing


Very cool digital world visualization from Facebook.

- Plush He-Man and Skeletor
source: Super Punch


- Samsung Galaxy Player to Challenge iPod Touch [REPORT]
source: Mashable!

An Android "iPod Touch". I would definitely get one of these if at $199.

- VIDEO: The Mindscape Of Alan Moore. For Americans.
source: Bleeding Cool

I tweeted this last week, but it's definitely worth watching for any creative types. Catch it on Hulu while it lasts!

- Acme Novelty Library robot paper toy
source: Super Punch

Cool. You could probably use this as a base and create some interesting caharacters over top of it.

- 4 Fun Party Games Using Networked Computers
source: MakeUseOf.com

Some old. Some good.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 4:14pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- DC Comics Solicitations For August 2011
source: Action Figure Insider - Best Toy News on the Web!

First time in quite awhile that DC direct announces an entire set that I want to get. I would have prefered the Don (guy) version of Dove instead of the girl version though. Having the girl be peace and the guy be chaos is just much more cliche than the Don as Dove character was.

- Comcast's quad-tuner Xfinity Spectrum DVR with internet access revealed by the FCC
source: Engadget

A next-gen, more AppleTV/GoogleTV like Comcast DVR sounds really cool.

- App Update: ToonCamera
source: The iPhoneography Blog

I downloaded this app. It's very clean, very fast and is great for tooned up videos and stills.

- Homemade plush Hobbes
source: Super Punch

That's very cool.

- Tron Evolution playthrough
source: Super Punch



Between the two videos, there's 15 min of video here. Really nice. Graphics very movie-like.


- Streaming Video from iPad and iPhone to Linux [Video]
source: Gizmodo

This is neat, but it makes me notice that I really haven't done much of anything with Linux in about 2 years. It's a great OS and for a time it really made some older hardware useful. But lately there just doesn't seem to be as much need for a Linux box when you can get older (or even current) hardware running windows or OSX so easily, so cheaply.

- Katy Perry and The Simpsons puppets
source: Super Punch

Video at the above link. But these making of the puppets shots on Flickr were really interesting.


- New App: Shoot Retro looking video on your iPhone with 8mm Vintage Camera
source: The iPhoneography Blog

This device does for video what Hipstamatic does for pictures. That said, this does what it does so well that you quickly ask yourself "Why do I need my videos to look like they were shot in the teens or 20s?". Well worth buying and playing with for whenever you can answer that question: "now would be a good time for that."

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 2:23pm #

Let's Go Surfing


- New iPhone Photo App: Magic Shutter
source: The iPhoneography Blog

I downloaded this app. Not bad. Does a good job of fake simulating long shutter times.

- Three-wheeled motorbike is crammed with airbags and padding
source: DVICE

I would really like something like this if it was cheap. Something small like this would be perfect to and from work.

- How to build your own Fables puppets, by Mark Buckingham
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Board Game and Do-it Yourself Fables Puppet Theater from Fables #100.

- comiXology launches on the Android
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Comixology seems like it's on it's way to be the Diamond Distribution of the Digital Age.

- In 2010, comics owned the iPad
source: Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources - Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment


- Theres Another Thor Movie Coming
source: Bleeding Cool

Ah, the downside to using a non-copyrighted mythological character as the basis of your IP.

- Foursquare Adds Photos and Comments
source: Mashable!

Foursquare is maturing. For me though I see no point to checking into any place that I'm not going to be for a sizeable chunk of time. conferences, conventions, etc. Those are worth checking into since Foursquare could help you discover other people in those types of places. But checking into a McDonalds that I'm going to leave in 10 minutes isn't worth much since by the time a friend so the checkin, I'd probably be gone before they could join. *Although, I suppose if I was in a walking city I might feel a little more differently.

- Xerox shows off Smart Document Review table, a Surface that sifts through billions of docs (video)
source: Engadget

Interesting ideas. Scary dated looking video. UI graphics look stale.

- The DC/Marvel Battle For Marketshare
source: Bleeding Cool

But what kind of Market? If there are only a few books in the top ten that approach 100K copies, you don't really have a mass market.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 1:12pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- ASUS Eee Note EA800 Unboxed in Front of Camera (Video)
source: Tablet News

I was interested in this but after watching the video, this looks like they created an Apple Newton from the 90s.


- Hotmail Gets Interactive, Runs JavaScript Within E-mails
source: Mashable!


Disruptive. Nice.

- Did societies evolve to be corrupt? [Psychology]
source: io9

Pretty much BS. But interestingly formed BS.

- The Casulo is an entire bedroom in a box
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia


I love these types of all in one rooms in a box.

- WikiReader gets access to the Project Gutenberg Library
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia


At $99 this device is a little too pricy but at $25 with a desktop editor that let you compile your own texts this would be a very interesting device indeed.

- Rocket paper toy
source: Super Punch

Redesigned abit, the balloon would make a nice table centerpiece or office desk item.

- Adventure Time worm and other cute plush creatures
source: Super Punch

Plush Pop-tarts would be a fun project to make.

- Video game poster show at Gallery 1988
source: Super Punch

Frogger is cool.

- New Tron posters for Mondo
source: Super Punch


New Tron/Old Tron.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 12:56pm #

Let's Go Surfing

- Found Pic: Sunbathing Batmen

- Is DC Universe Classics Wave 18 the "Super Friends Diversity" Wave?
source: ActionFigurePics.com

I hope so, this would be an awesome line-up.

- Least I Could Do: 2010-12-08
source: Least I Could Do


Angry Birds!

- Classic Biscuit Recipe: Butter Dips
source: The Kitchn

Looks Tasty.

- Official Thor Trailer from Marvel
source: Bleeding Cool

I'm very interested in seeing this. But there is a certain familiarity settling in with the Marvel Movie trailers. Like the comics there is a certain commonality to them. That's good and bad i think.

- Kids' book/science fiction mashups
source: Boing Boing

Cool.

- Staying connected in Google drawings
source: Official Google Docs Blog

Nice for making flow charts etc in Google Docs.


- Angry Birds, 8-bit [Angry Birds]
source: Gizmodo


This should be a playable game.

- Photoshop Tutorial Rap: Still Surprisingly Instructive! [Video]
source: Gizmodo

A bunch of people sent this to me, I finally watched it. Amusing.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 11:32am #

Let's Go Surfing

- Real Steel trailer looks like a robo-fighting champ! [Video]
source: io9


If they do a cheap $3 Celebration Theater Sunday night show of this, I might go see in the theater. But it looks dumb. I mean it's Hugh Jackman and Realistic looking Rockem Sockem robots, so it's probably a good dumb movie, but still, I can't imagine there's anyway to make this more than dumb fun at best.

- Syfy greenlights 13 episodes of superhero drama Alphas [Super Drama]
source: io9

Cool. More Superhero stuff on TV.

- Hayden Christensen is humanity's only hope in Vanishing on 7th Street trailer [Video]
source: io9


Looks like a smaller movie like Push or Jumper, but I like the smaller movies often, so, this might be a go see. Oddly according to the article, this will be On Demand January 7th and then in theaters February 18th. That's a twist, in homes before theaters.


- Found Pic: Monopoly Social Media Edition


Nice.

- Found Pic: life Calendar


Neat way to track how your year went.

- Google Chrome Web Store: Confused Yet?
source: Mashable!

I think the problem with Google Chrome is that Google is now big enough that they have competing teams that are competing with eachother internally. It's confusing for the public which wants to know: "What does Google think?" when I think Google's real answer is "We don't know, we're doing both Android and Chrome and we were sort of caught by surprise that Android was going to grow this fast and upstage this Chrome thing we've been working toward for awhile."

- Before & After: Closet to Home Office Transformation
source: Unplggd


Nice closet home office, see the full post on Apartment Therapy

- 3 Videos on Making Work Better
source: ReadWriteWeb


- Princess Bride lightsaber swordfight
source: Boing Boing

Nice.

I want to hear your




Sat 1/01/11 10:29am #

Let's Go Surfing


- sway.
source: @typeis4lovers

Nice Chair.

- P2P-Based DNS Seeks to Counter ICANN and Thwart Domain Seizures
source: ReadWriteWeb

P2P DNS, this has lots of potential.

- Google Launches Long-Awaited E-Bookstore
source: Mashable!


I really liked how simple and clean their rescaleable html ereader is.

- Screenshot Tour of Diaspora, the Open-Source Social Network [Screenshot Tour]
source: Gizmodo


Can you do a decentralized, open sourced facebook? Will it be able to get any traction?


- What Is Near-Field Communication? [Video]
source: Gizmodo


I think NFC could be pretty cool.

- Motorola Android tablet prototype makes a cameo at D: Dive Into Mobile running Honeycomb
source: Engadget


Nice Interview with Andy Rubin, Google's main Android guy. Full Video of the interview here.

- An explanation for those alien probes
source: Super Punch


Amusing 3D Animated video short explaining what all those Alien probes were about. SFW.

- New Threadless t-shirts
source: Super Punch


This Han Solo and Chebacca T-Shirt design is fantastic.

- Foursquare Could Take Down Even Batman [Image Cache]
source: Gizmodo


This is why sidekicks can't use social media.

- Google Wants to Take Your Caps Lock Away [Blockquote]
source: Gizmodo

GETS A LITTLE PRESS BUT ITS A BAD IDEA, SOMETIMES THE CAPS LOCK KEY IS USEFUL.

- My life with PSD
source: Unplggd


Amusing designer humor video.

- Large Pocket Shirt lives up to its name
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia


This would work better if the large pocket was in the shape of a superman symbol.

- iProp is probably the tallest iPad stand youll find
source: The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia


Posted just for that great vacant Wall-E chair people type vacant computer screen stare.

- C-3PO Never Looked This Good...Or Was Ever This Waterproof [Starwars]
source: Gizmodo

These *are* the droids you're looking for. Move along.


- Travel posters for famous comic book locations
source: Super Punch


I like these minimalist comic/movie/pop art type posters.

- Found Pic: Cat using iPhone.

- The First Trailer For Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
source: Bleeding Cool

I'm sure the movie will be mediocre at best, but the first trailer is actully pretty good.

I want to hear your



Ptw Leki in the New Year

Ptw Leki in the New Year
Flickr: Sat 01-01-11 00:47:54 -0500


Ptw Jenn in the New Year

Ptw Jenn in the New Year
Flickr: Sat 01-01-11 00:20:30 -0500


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