It's Beautiful

I can't decide what's better. The play by Eli to get the ball there under pressure, or the play by Plaxico Burress to make the catch. On second thought, I don't care. It's just beautiful

Oh Fuck Me. We're screwed.

What's scarier than Bush behind the wheel of the hegemon, directed by neo-cons? Bush behind the wheel of the hegemon, directed by Jesus.

This ain't a political blog. There are enough of those. But I need to say something. It's time to seriously acknowledge that this war wasn't the creation of armchair neocon generals in Washington with a simple-minded view of the region out to secure our oil amidst the bonfire of democracy. I now believe that our president has entered us into a religious war and that he used WMDs and Saddam to get us crazy non-believers to go along with it.

I humbly refer you to my daily read, Froomkin's White House Briefing of August 4th, 2006. In it, Dan enumerates several examples of bible study and visits from apocalyptic prophecy experts, AT THE WHITE HOUSE. He gave the column the title, "What's the motivation?". That question has been answered for me.

Bush has many times expressed his sense that he was "called" to be the President. Could that have meant that God hates Social Security or the Death Tax?

Nope. I think it can mean only one thing. He wants to deplane from Air Force one just in time to greet Jesus at the Wailing Wall.

The scariest thing I've read in a long time

They just had something like this on one of the episodes of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes. A dude gets bitten by snake while playing golf and they all think he's dead, when he's really just paralyzed. Then they're about to start the autopsy and.... Yikes.

This is expressly why I've told Mrs. Fridge that I need to be euthanized pronto, should something like this happen to me. I can't be trapped in the ol' noggin. No way.

I'm a frickin' genius. It really is iTV.

iTV is coming. What it really is when it gets, we'll have to wait and see.

Until then, the short explanation is that this is a doohickey you can connect to your TV that will stream video from a Mac or PC. It's apparently about the size of a paperback book. The key thing is that you will be able to purchase and download video from iTunes and play it on your TV instead of your itty-bitty iPod screen.

Not too shabby. Here's the rub:

"Apple’s new movies are delivered in a higher-resolution format than the television shows it now sells. The current videos are available in a 320-by-240-pixel format. Mr. Jobs went to great lengths to explain how the new movies and newly added TV content, at 640 by 480 pixels, will offer a substantial increase in visual clarity.

The movies will have lower resolution than commercial DVD’s, which are generally formatted at 720 by 480 pixels, however, and will take several hours to download at standard broadband data rates. "

Ok, I missed an episode of LOST, downloaded for 2 bucks and watched it on the laptop. That was kinda cool. I missed the last two episodes of 24 and downloaded them. Then I hooked up an S-Video connection to the laptop and it was kinda lousy picture quality. With many of the early adopter-types already having adopted HDTVs with much higher resolution (1024 and up), why would they want this? I don't see it.

Color me not so impressed.

Series 3 actually available.... Wow

Box details are here, as is the big price tag - $800! I guess I'll have to wait until the price comes down into the 500 dollar range.

One of the features that is there, but not talked about yet, because the latest version of the software doesn't yet support it (probably because of piracy concerns) is the SATA connection. This will ultimately allow the user to expand the storage of HD video by plugging in an external hard drive. Likely this is not yet available because TiVo is still negotiating the technology by which to do this. A Hollywood that props itself up with DVD sales can't just allow any old schmuck to take HD Video off his TiVo box. There will need to be DRM. But TiVo can be a leader in this arena because it has a population of dedicated early adopters.

CNet reviews the TiVo Series 3

The final rating? Excellent. The drawback? Wicked expensive. Damn.

iTV? No, how bout iCable? iSatellite?

Interesting article about how Apple still has yet to enter the TV fray and yet everyone is anxiously awaiting it, and even more importantly, expecting it.

I must say that I am a hard core TiVo guy. And many people compare them to Apple, primarily because both of them are seriously concerned with design. Whereas many companies will simply slap together a bunch of bits and cobble it together into a product, neither TiVo nor Apple will do so. They will not be rushed, and basically gamble their success on the ability to do better what they cannot do more quickly.

This leads to some agonizing waiting for those of us who love their products. For example, when TiVo came out with the Series2 Dual Tuner DVR, I was ecstatic. Finally, two shows at once! This is of course common functionality for CableCo DVRs but their software is gawd-awful. I can't stand it. Most of my friends have already made the leap to HDTV. Why have I not? I won't give up my TiVo. Series 3 is coming soon, though and will be the best yet.

Can Apple break into the TV Market? Maybe. If they do, they'll be entering a market that is cluttered with products and manufacturers. iPod succeeds because it created a market. iTunes, the same thing. But the TV market is much more like the PC market. A frontier-like open market where price beats product. This is one where a company like Dell can dominate a company like Apple that makes a better product. It's not Apple's strength to battle with Sony, Panasonic and the host of knockoffs sold at Wal-Mart.

So, when Jobs has his next dog and pony show here's hoping that he doesn't say they're building a Home Media PC. Or if they are, it's something so new and exciting that we can't even be sure it will work. That's what Apple does best. Please don't just give me iTivo.

Holy Crap... I will see this movie. I will.

I love Al. I have to say that I was really one of those political moderates that tried really hard to see both sides of every issue. That pretty much ended for me when the US Government spent 60 million dollars (or there abouts) investigating a blowjob. I soon after that discovered Al with his book Liars and have been with Al ever since with everything he does. I even gave out The Truth as Xmas gifts last year. Now this



Like all things Franken, I am there.

Borat is funny. He just is.

Via: VideoSift

Voice Recognition

See, this dude's problem is that he needs to pick up the mouse and talk into it like Scotty in Star Trek 4. Still, any engineer knows this is a nightmare. The Demo Gone Awry. Having been to many of the Microsoft dog-and-pony shows and seen the somewhat precious self satisfaction with which they demonstrate their stuff, this makes me laugh.


Via: VideoSift

Hey Ya - a must see...

Attack of the killer golf course!

This is kinda scary and kinda cool. Apparently crazy grass scientists have let genetically engineered golf course grass, um, escape? So, now, it's spreading. Eventually, the whole world will be a golf course.

They tried to contain the engineered grass, but it had a fantastic plan. First, one of the blades pretended to be sick. Then, when one of the greenskeepers came to check in on them, they knocked him over the head and made a break for it.

On Notice

This site that makes On Notice boards is making the rounds as the latest 'coolest site on the internet'. Here's mine. Thanks, Toast

CONCERT REVIEW

The following is my review of the Def Leppard concert of June 27^th, 2003. Thoughts in basic chronological order of occurrence.

• 4:30 – Mrs. Fridge asks the 17 yr old babysitter if she likes Def Leppard. “I don’t know who he is…” Me = Old.

• Mohegan Sun is the greatest place to see a metal show. Ever. Why? Ridiculously ample parking. Instead of being surrounded by city blocks of dubious safety for drunk people, you’re surrounded by one of the coolest places in the north east. Park, hit one of the many bars that are no more than 50 ft from the venue. No huge line of cars parking and then exiting the venue. Awesome.

• Hit the Dubliner Irish Bar before the show. Mmm, Guiness…

• ACK! MUST. NOT. STARE. AT. WAITRESS’ AWESOME RACK. ON DATE WITH WIFE!

• After downing a few Guinness’, we walk around to the entrance and enter the venue – it’s 7:25 and the show is supposed to start at 7:30 – but metal shows are always 1/2 hr late, right? Literally five minutes from sitting at dinner to sitting at seats. Good times.

• Sam Adams vendor says show will start at 7:30 and the opening band will play for 45 minutes before a ½ hr intermission.

• 7:32 Tesla appears. Oh My God this is loud! I can’t tell if it’s me being old, or if this is just a small venue with normal sized PA. This has to be about half the size of the Htfd Civic Center and 1/3 of the Garden. My ears may be bleeding. Still, it’s awesome.

• On time, no less. So much for metal shows always being late. Probably didn’t have to wake anyone passed out on the tour bus. Shocking.

• Damn, forgot how ugly Tesla is. But, they didn’t have Jumbotrons in the arenas back then. May accentuate the negatives.

• Tesla’s lead guitarist comes out with a pot belly, long blond hair and a Slash-ripoff Top Hat. It is most assuredly not 1985, as I am wondering if he has any hair under that Top Hat.

• Tesla is totally rocking the joint. Completely reaffirms my position that they are one of the more underrated rock bands ever. My pet theory is that their lead singer held them back despite his excellent performances because he’s basically an uglier Steve Tyler without the personality.

• Tesla plays “The Love Song”, which is for my money the best rock ballad ever. Mrs. Fridge is loving it and things are looking good for me later tonight J

• Tesla closes with “Modern Cowboy” and blows the roof off. Good stuff. Precisely 45 minutes. This is eerie. We are so far from the days of shows being called off for the “flu”, or Tommy Lee falling 50 feet from an upside-down drum kit and canceling the remainder of the gig. These guys are pros.

• If it’s intermission, it’s time to hit the can and see Mr. Sam Adams. By Mr. Adams schedule, Def Leppard should start at 8:45.

• 8:45. Lights down. I am officially obsessed with the new-found precision. Of course, this could all be a combined by-product of sobriety and playing the same set list from 1987. Armageddon it! From the looks of Mrs. Fridge, Yes! I’ma geddin it!

• I begin to recall the behind the music where one of the dudes from Def Leppard (later googled to be Steve Clark) died. There’s a new guy and it’s somewhat disorienting that he’s got brown hair. Shouldn’t that be illegal? No wig?

• Woah! New guy is good.

• Hey, is that new guy Vivian Campbell? (formerly of Dio and Whitesnake?). He was awesome!

• Crap! A new song! Don’t know it, and by new I mean something that’s released since Hysteria. Mrs. Fridge and I are officially in “sway back and forth and pretend we know the song mode”.

• Random redneck dude with hot girlfriend behind me leans over and says, “Couldn’t ask for a better show, huh?” Me (somewhat annoyed that he’s bugging me randomly): “No, it’s awesome.”. Him, even more randomly “You know that’s Vivian Campbell, right?” Me (shocked that it was him and I recognized him and that this dude felt it interesting to point out) : “Holy Crap! I thought so, but wasn’t sure!”

• Photograph!

• Rocket! This leads to me and Mrs. Fridge trying to figure out what the heck he says after “Rocket! Yeah! ” City of light? Save your life? Google reveals the answer (Sattelite of love? I can’t figure the syllables matching the phrasing, but google never lies).

• Women!

• Woah. Redneck dudes girlfriend is in dire need of a strippers pole! And if one appeared, I’d be searching my wallet for singles.

• Concert low point: Dogs of War as a political statement. Just one of the weaker songs in my opinion and it became this multimedia bonanza with the jumbo screens, explosions, etc. Mostly, I just think that song sucks. Ok chorus. The rest? Snooze city.

• Bringing on the Heartbreak!

• Mrs. Fridge asks the land mine question of the day: “Which one of those guys do you think I’m hot for?” ugh. Probably not the one-armed drummer. I guess the dude Phil Collen, who has been in the band since way back, always has his shirt off and makes $ex faces during the guitar solos. “Nope. The one with brown hair” Me: “That’s Vivian Campbell. He was in whitesnake.” Being a Vivian Campbell fan, I can’t disagree with her choice.

• “Huh?” moment! - Def Leppard plays a BadFinger cover and says it’s their new “single”! Ack! “No Matter What”

• Back to rocking, thank god! Rock of Ages!

• End “show”. Begin obligatory begging for “impromptu encore”.

• Whaddya know? An Encore!

• Set officially closes with the theme song of every strip club in the US, Pour Some Sugar on Me.

• Woah! Mrs. Fridge could use a strippers pole of her own! Things are going exceedingly well.

• During the post concert absorption of fan adulation, mr. Vivian Campbell gets the biggest wave from Mrs. Fridge. He will heretofore be known as “the Tino of Rock”.

• Lights up. 10:30 pm. Within ten minutes, I’ll be on the highway. My ears will have a delicious ring the whole way home.

• 11:15. Almost home. Look over, Mrs. Fridge has leaned back in her seat and has eyes closed. My chances for tonight have taken a terrible turn for the worst.

• 11:45. Babysitter is paid and long gone, Mrs. Fridge is asleep and I’m watching Letterman.

• 5:00AM. Mrs. Fridge mumbles “What was that guitarists name again?” Me, cranky: “Vivian Campbell”. Her: “That’s not a cool name.” Me: “Well, I think he’s Scottish and probably gay”. I hate Vivian Campbell.