TwoPennies

Nerd Humor

So if you're a fan of the original Star Trek TV show, AND a fan of Will Ferrell's Old School, AND a fan of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, AND a fan of Stephen Colbert, AND a fan of more cowbell (and hey, who ISN'T a fan of all those things?) you're gonna love this (some NSFW language in here...)

(Hat tip to SciFi Wire)

Reinventing the Wheel

After a solid 20+ years of being a staunch IBM PC-compatible kinda guy, I've been thinking recently about (gasp) maybe getting a Mac, too.  The problem I have with that is they're so darn expensive for what you get... just yesterday I was browsing the Mac store on-line and saw the "top of the line" MacBook Pro 17" model for just under $2900, while a comparable model from Dell (same processor, memory, display, hard drive, etc.) was just under $2200.  To be sure, I could find a 17" Windows-based laptop for significantly less than that even, but I wanted to try to compare... well... Apples to Apples, so to speak.

Anyhow, news comes today that Apple has just unveiled the NEW version of the 17" MacBook Pro, with the same nifty sleek design as was previously only available on smaller models.  And it's got a supposedly wonderful long-lasting battery.  It's definitely the coolest-looking big laptop that I've seen.

And it's still $2900, which is just too damn much for a computer that I'd then need to buy a bunch more software for in order to make it useful (as opposed to simply transferring my existing Windows software).  So, no MacBook for me, at least for the foreseeable future.

But lo, what's this I see?  It appears that Apple recently introduced the Next Big Thing in user interfaces, so I might just need to Think Different about my anti-Apple bias (big tip o' the hat to my main man Voltaire):

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

His wife ain't too shabby, either...

I haven't been watching the convention as it happens, so I've been getting bits and pieces out of order as I try to catch up.  I didn't see Hillary's big speech until after I saw Bill's, so here's the clip of her big moment:

As I mentioned over a year ago, I think the Democrats are missing an opportunity by passing over Hillary for Barack.  I don't necessarily agree with her policies, but she's a significantly more engaging personality.  I honestly think her speech was better than Bill's.

It's just as well, I've got to vote for the Republican ticket no matter what, and it's a lot easier for me to do with Obama on the other side.  More important than any one leader is maintaining divided government -- Congress is lost to the Dems so the White House has got to go to the Republicans, for the good of the country.  If Congress was in the hands of the Republicans, I'd hold my nose and vote for Obama, despite my many reservations about the man.

Dude gives a good speech...

Probably the most gifted orator of the past 50 years... never mind that some of his points are rather specious, the man is just awesome at working a crowd. Notice, however, how he speaks to "My fellow Democrats", not "My fellow Americans". Yes he's at the Democratic convention, but he's on national (if not world-wide) TV, his audience is much broader than that.

Anyhow, others may have a different read on this, but it seems to me like he's going through the motions, saying what he needs to say about his party's nominee more out of obligation than out of conviction.

Video Link

So, there's a bit of a mess in the Democratic Party these days...

Don't ya hate when this happens?

Gross, yet compelling (hat tip to Jeffy D):

Do you suck at Photoshop?

Yeah, I do.  But fortunately there are helpful tutorials available online (videos after the jump, not necessarily safe for work)...

Business Comments

I've been remiss in failing to post these earlier... what happens when business situations are attended by internet commenters... NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Hick Hop

The sound quality isn't the greatest, but it's still one of the better music videos I've seen in a while...

An hour with Rudy

I just finished watching Wednesday night's Charlie Rose program, a full hour with Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani.  If you aren't familiar with Rose's show, you should be -- it is by far one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking hours you can spend with your TV set.

I found a lot to like about Giuliani -- and a lot to be uncomfortable about.  He's a very personable man, and I admire his stated philosophies about a number of things.  When it gets to specifics, not so much.  And hey, have you heard?  9/11 happened!  Rudy was mayor at the time!  So, uh... yeah.  Guess you should vote for him for President then, right?

Anyhow, here's the episode:

Perspective

Much has been written about the President's recent commutation of "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence.  I've yet to see anything positive (with good reason).

But it seems to me that there's very little sense of perspective in the commentary so far.

First, what would we do without MTV asking the hard-hitting questions:  "Did Paris Hilton and Lil' Kim get it worse than Scooter Libby?"

Is there anything with LESS perspective on this issue than vox populi from a 17-year-old?  Seriously?

Then we have Keith Olbermann's rant (included below) calling for both Bush and Cheney to resign over this matter.  Now, I'm not about to defend the current administration as even remotely worthy of the office.  But seriously, Scooter Libby is what you're getting all upset about?  Granted, Olbermann goes off on a litany of issues that he has with the administration, which all add up to poor stewardship of the country.  He's not wrong about that.  But I think he overreaches in his comparison to Nixon's firing of Archibald Cox.  (Never mind that many of his complaints boil down to "Republicans shouldn't be in charge of government.")

And really, here's the thing.  If a person had enough of a sense of honor and duty to resign as President -- there's an awfully good chance that such a person wouldn't have done something so wrong as to precipitate the resignation in the first place.

I'll put it even more bluntly:  for a person to resign, he has to think he's actually done something wrong.  Clearly, this President (and Vice President) hold no such belief.  Expecting them to resign is rather foolish.

I'm reminded (tangentially) of the outrage over President Clinton's lies about his affairs.  People were shocked -- SHOCKED -- that the President of the United States would lie to the American people about cheating on his wife.

Well, DUH.  When you cheat on your wife, that's what you do -- lie about it.  I'm not defending the practice, of course.  I'm saying don't expect a cheater to be honest about cheating.  He (or she) has already cheated, why on Earth would any rational person then expect a cheater to act honorably in any other way?

And why on Earth would any rational person expect a President who has -- let's put it tactfully -- stretched the limits of his office -- to suddenly develop a conscience and resign?

Anyhow, here's that clip from Olbermann.  What do YOU think?

Update, 4:15pm:  Here's a link to the text version of Mr. Olbermann's commentary.  Also, Mr. Olbermann's name has had its full complement of n's restored within this article.  ;-)

Wally World here we come!!!

Motorcycle Cop:  Do you know what the penalty for animal cruelty is in this state?
Clark:  No, sir, I don't.
Motorcycle Cop:  Well... it's probably pretty stiff.

A friend tipped me off to a little anecdote in this story (thanks, Nate!) that immediately puts one in mind of a certain classic movie, and this theme song (man, 80's videos were sooooo bitchin'):

Fun with Video

Last weekend I got a new toy... actually, a couple of new toys... and as a result I've been learning all about Windows Vista for the past week.  ;-)

One of the things I had to get with the new computer was the latest flight sim from Microsoft -- FSX.  And with the widescreen monitor and reasonably decent video card, I'm able to run that baby at a beautiful 1920x1200 resolution.  Pretty sweet.

I spent this last evening playing with video capture options for the program -- alas, trying to capture live video of my flights results in pretty craptastic frame rates at times.  However, I did manage to capture a reasonable sequence of flying around for fun in the aerobatic Extra 300S sport plane, which I've posted here.  Warning, it's a Windows format file (WMV) and it's pretty big at 109MB.  So I'd strongly recommend that you choose to download the link rather than just clicking on it.

But I hope you enjoy my efforts -- as I got to play around with Windows Movie Maker in assembling the final product.  I'm learning new stuff left and right!

I'm going to try to post a few screen caps tomorrow, showing some of the adventures I've had with the game.

UPDATE:  I've posted a slightly smaller (and lower-quality) video here, still WMV but only a little more than 43MB in size.

Every office needs a Swear Jar...

OK, two videos in a row is a bit excessive... but this web commercial for Bud Light is pretty funny!

The Classics Never Die

Because sometimes I, too, need the help of two other people just to slow it down for the ladies...

Tough Landlord

So I'm not a big fan of Will Ferrell, but I do loves me some foul-mouthed kids... by far the highlight of Talladega Nights was the one-two punch of Walker and Texas Ranger ("If we wanted us some wusses we would have named them Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman.")

Here's another, rather lower-budget, Ferrell flick:

The Superbowl Explained

Yesterday, Ze Frank explained in terms even a young child could understand exactly how the ritual of the Superbowl works.

Instant classic.

More on the iPhone

Steve Jobs describes the capabilities of the new iPhone on SNL's Weekend Update:

Local (Portland) News Videos

A friend of mine sent a video link to a local news story about a small plane that crash-landed in his neighborhood.  Interesting story, but the "crack" local news team did the usual job of completely misunderstanding aviation issues.  I know from personal experience, it ain't the very easiest thing in the world to land a light plane under the best of conditions, and without power it can be a challenge.  But looking at the (relatively) wide streets in the Fairview neighborhood, the weather, and other factors -- it's hardly a miracle that the pilot managed to land without major catastrophe.

And is there some rule that local TV crews have to pick the most photogenic/most clueless available bystanders to provide their inane "insights" into the story?  Wouldn't commentary from, I dunno, an expert of some kind better serve the public's interest?

Anyhow, the plane crash video was OK, but I was understandably distracted by this other video clip for the day.

Now that's news I can use!!!  I am positively ashamed that Seattle has such a business while Vegas does not...

Flat Baroque

While exploring the blog of a recent visitor, I came across this excellent video of a guy talking about his traumatic experiences with Pachelbel's Canon in D (big hat tip to Leslie):

The Art of Speechwriting

As Arianna Huffington says, what people don't realize is there is a genius behind the stupidity (hat tip to BlueOregon):

They eat WHAT????

Big hat tip to Jack Bog for this video, which explains a lot:

Michael J. Fox

If you haven't heard, Michael J. Fox has been campaigning for some Democrats who support stem cell research.  Rush Limbaugh was doing his thing and claiming that Michael J. Fox exaggerated his symptoms or didn't take his meds to make the symptoms more acute in order to appear more sympathetic in the TV advertisements for Democrats.  I've read that Rush went so far as to mimic Parkinsons in a mocking fashon.

Below is the response from Micael J. Fox.  I find it hard to sit through without getting a lump in my throat.  But if I can distance myself from it for a moment and  analyze it a bit, I find that it is a fantastic example of (metaphorically speaking) NOT trying to wrestle the pig down in the mud, which just makes you dirty and the pig likes it.  Instead of taking the bait, Mr. Fox uses his opponent's smears as momentum and stays on message.  He's trying to cut through the rhetoric and reach his audience, and I think he does that.

Please stand up.

A little classic comedy remix.

Ethanol now?

I don't remember where I first came across a link to this presentation about ethanol, but the video dates from late March '06 and I first saw it about a month ago.  I've been thinking about finally letting go of my 26 year old Saab (can't find some replacement parts) and one possible replacement would be a dirt-cheap Taurus of which many also are flex-fuel vehicles.  So that led me to watching this video again today and the second viewing conviced me that it is something everyone should see.

I'll warn you right up front that the video is 68 minutes long, but the best parts are in the first half.  If you only watch the first quarter you will probably have learned more than you can digest in one sitting.  I didn't know who Vinod Khosla was the first time I watched the video, but I gather he is a pretty big deal.  It doesn't matter, the material is impressive regardless of the reputation I was ignorant of.

I have to say that it gives me some hope, which has been sorely lacking for about 6 years now.

I know just how he feels...

Not that I intend to specialize in these sorts of videos... but it hasn't escaped my attention that after two months I still get more visits to this item than virtually any other part of this blog so far.  Anyhow, Ken just sent this along and I can definitely relate to the little guy.  The site doesn't say, but I think it's safe to assume that this just has to be a "HE"... I've known too many human dudes (myself included) who look just like this sometimes... often right after a big holiday meal...

Giving Aid and Comfort...

Once again, astute observer zefrank has distilled the core of a complex issue into a basic, rational explanation.  His commentary on our basic inability to understand risk actually aiding terrorists is dead on.  And his assertion that "general statements that instill nebulous fear without specific information" (such as our President makes regularly) are "exactly in line with the goals of terrorism" is something that everybody should take to heart.

Yeah, the guy's kinda goofy sometimes, and he has an offbeat sense of humor.  Occasionally, like the first part of today's show, he can be obscene.  But when he's serious, he's also an important voice of reason in an otherwise chaotic world.  He exceeds the Stewart/Colbert standard on a regular basis.  Start watching him, for your own good.

UPDATE:  Apparently the video was pretty choppy on this page for some users, so you'll now need to go to zefrank's web site directly (click on his picture in the top-right) and it should run smoothly.

Deficit Attention Disorder

So my good friend Phriedom turned me on to an excellent video blog thingy by this dude in New York with the odd name "Zefrank".

Here's an early video of his from March to give you a taste (click the link, as there's an embedded video player involved):

Thou shalt not look like an idiot on National TV

Stephen Colbert interviews Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland about the importance of posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings:

(Hat tip to Phriedom, by way of GorillaMask.net)

Note: If for some reason the above video will not play, try this link or this link instead.

The Mess Maker!

What happens when you put 200 liters of Diet Coke together with more than 500 Mentos?

(Simultaneous tips of the hat to Snethen and Kenny...)

UPDATE (6/15): Yeah, I got tired of that damn dialog box telling me about the ActiveX control on my page, so I converted the video from an embedded object to the link above...