Alan!

iPhoto knows me so well

2009-02-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

As you can see iPhoto's new face detection had lead to hilarity...Now I have to go do some research to figure out what his name is so iPhoto can properly sort it all out...Apple is unleashing my inner metadata obsessive compulsive disorder, cause my iTunes is like...perfect yo...

Obama Brings Back Night-Owl Presidency

2009-01-15T22:32:00.001-08:00

"With the metabolism of a White House set by its occupant, Obama's team is preparing for a return to long nights, heavy weekend shifts – and a boss who will venture into Washington far more than the place's current resident."About damn time! I'm excited that our shiny new President is a fellow night owl, early to bed early to rise? ha!

read more | digg story

Its that time of year again

2008-12-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

Dublin is the new Bermuda Triangle

2008-08-28T06:37:00.001-07:00

So my natural lack of direction aside, Ireland is damn near impossible to navigate, even their television shows joke about it.

a few quick notes on my trip

2008-08-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

Non-stop flight from SFO was terrible, turbulent and kinda stinky. No sleep.
Irish Football is awesome.
I get lost in 13 seconds flat here. none of the roads are labeled.
The Barge has the best fish and chips I've ever had.
Christ this place is green all over
and I love Euthymol toothpaste so much. I have to find a way to get it in the US cheap
speaking of cheap, Dublin is not cheap, beers are like $10 a pop here. Damn Euro...
a few quick snapshots of dubious quality

want!

2008-08-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

new best. idea. ever.
get this:

and answer telemarketers with it. Post recordings here.

McDonalds iced coffee

2008-07-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

isn't really coffee, it does however contain crack. Even the sugar-less version.
Also dosent help that it's about the size of a milk carton. Its about 1am and I wish I could sleep

cloud hopping

2008-07-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

the act or process of transferring all of your contacts/bookmarks/calendars/email from one online service to another
It sucks.

Apple's mobileme service is an epic fail, its bad enough to make me yearn for the .mac days.
So I'm packing my data and moving out. What a nasty process.

As more and more "clouds" appear online to store your bits, please choose wisely.

You are a pirate

2008-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

oh. my. god.
It's like an ADHD swedish pop take on the ~~muppets~~ sesame street?
This is going to be in my head for months. oy. It's like Ace of Base for babies

Toads and rides

2008-02-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Mr. Toad's wild ride totally holds up over all the years. What a dark and twisted little 2:01 minutes to subject yourself too. Reckless driving, imprisonment, death by train collision and then you end up in hell. Ride over.

best Disney ride. EVER.

I need a new drug

2008-02-09T22:31:00.001-08:00

Dear Disney,

I now completely and totally understand why you still require all riders to walk ALL the way out and run through the queues when there are no people...

Space Mountain....8 times back to back

we didn't even walk around the whole queue because we figured out a short circuit and made our way through the emergency exit to get RIGHT back in the front line seconds after riding.

It seemed like a great idea at the time to down a rockstar and ride space mountain for as long as possible

The Fortney Look

2008-02-09T22:25:00.001-08:00

I don't know what it is with our family, but we get that look of general doubt mixed with concern REALLY early in life...

Macworld 2008

2008-01-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

So work was awesome enough to send me and a coworker to SF for the week of Macworld. It also involved me staying up for over 24 hours straight in order to make it into the keynote. Here is a break down of my keynote day.
07:00 Wake up
08:00 Arrive in SF office and work
14:00 Lunch
19:00 Leave work to go pick up Macworld badges
19:30 Pickup Macworld stuff
20:00 Meet up with coworkers and people at Pub and eat chili cheeseburger (mistake) and drink beer
22:00 Arrive at the Ars Technica/Gizmodo party and realize the free drinks were only for the first 30 minutes (beyond lame) and its 102 degrees and reeks of dude.
22:18 Win awesome book about microprocessors in raffle, coworkers hella jealous, I rule
22:25 Tell some guys girlfriend that our offices are indeed, not named after harry potter characters.
22:45 Leave party and meet at Uber secret Macworld Bar with the Apple elite and commence to drink.
24:00 Leave awesome bar totally drunk, and realizing we need to go BACK to work to clean up our warroom.
01:00 Finish packing up boxes then go sit in break area with buddy drinking gatorade and coffee until we sober up
01:30 Head back to the rooms, shower and prep
02:00 Walk back to the Moscone
02:30 Get in line for the Keynote which takes place at 09:00
03:00 are we there yet? omg its cold.
03:45 Realize we are stuck behind this 12 yearold kid that thinks he knows EVERYTHING about Apple. He doesn't shut up until 09:00 I'm deadly serious, its one of the most painful moments in my life.
05:00 Break down and have my place in line held while I run to starbucks to use the bathroom
08:00 We finally get to move indoors to wait in line!
09:00 ack Keynote is running late, my will to live is at an all time low
9:30 Keynote!

TomTom won't work work

2007-12-30T01:04:00.000-08:00

...also known as how I broke AND fixed a Tom Tom One v3 in about 3 days.

So my wonderful parents popped one of these guys underneath the tree for me this year. I was obviously elated, and relieved. You see, I believe my internal compass was destroyed by an Acura dealership a few years back, but thats another story.

Anyways...

I desperately need gps, it is not a toy for me. I cannot find things 5 miles from either my house, or work. It's a serious problem.

So I unbox this little guy, boot him up, and get all geeky smitten-like. It's all good until I try and plug the sucker into my mac. Now Tom Tom says they support "teh mac" and indeed they had software available. So I install, load, plug and wait. It appears the TomTom mac software is lacking behind it's windows counterpart in a huge way.

So here is my journey into hell:

Day 1

1. TomTom Mac software prompts me to install an update NOT designed for my unit

2. I install it and the update proceeds to whork my TomTom to the point where it wont start up.

3. I call TomTom technical support over 20x times before I get through their busy signal (apparently the lines were/are jammed with holiday techsupport nightmares)

4. Tech support has no clue why this happened, asks me to reformat and re-download my maps. Oh but wait! They need proof of purchase. So I have to call my parents and get them to scan the receipt and mail it to me, so I can submit it. Not very christmassy if you ask me.

OH and due to holiday server traffic from new units, I cant get my maps for 2 days. More specifically "If you don't see it in 2 days, call back"

Day 2

5. I wait 24 hours and call back about another 20-30 times to talk to someone, they add the maps, but they wont show on my application. "Wait about 35 minutes, it takes time, call us back if you don't get them"

6. I don't get maps. I proceed to redial for about 20 minutes of busy signal, it finally picks up, only to feed me a recorded message that they are closed for the day. grr.

Day 3

7. Call back again 10-15 times. Talk to someone, they say that the "mac compatible" maps weren't added. So they add them at this point. The maps finally show up, and it takes me an hour to download them. So I hang up.

8. I install the maps, unplug the unit and reboot. I still get the blinking red x of fail. I am infuriated.

9. Call TomTom back and speak with my first really knowledgeable customer service agent, I recite my tale of woe for what feels like the 9th time, we try a few things, he explains that there is no such thing as "mac compatible maps" and that who ever told me that is insane. We spend about 30 minutes on the phone. He tells me to send the unit back to Office Depot.

10. So I call Office Depot, and they wont take the unit because I don't have the box it came in. This, like so many things these days, came wrapped in a turtleshell of hard plastic that you must take a chainsaw to in order to open.

So I lose it. I hang up on the lady and curse the mouth-breathers employed by office depot and their mangers and their managers (everyone is a manager at these places)

11. I get back in touch with TomTom and try and issue an RMA for the unit. Which will take about 3 weeks to perform. (yarg)

12. I get a bolt of inspiration, I was never convinced this thing was actually broken physically. It's a software issue, it CAN be fixed. So I grab a PC, install TomTom, reformat the unit, download the maps and updates and 3 hours later SUCCESS!

13. I document the issue for TomTom and send it via email, I have yet to hear back.

So Finally...

Mac users beware! the Disk Utility app in the gui will not correctly format a TomTom unit to Fat32. You can try the cmd line app, instructions are here

I highly advise you to just find a pc and do it that way until TomTom gets their act together on the mac.

happy googleween!

2007-10-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

Laser Tag

2007-10-12T10:40:00.001-07:00

Moments of self discovery: part 1

I take laser tag way too seriously.

busy busy busy

2007-10-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

7 days in a week
8 units of school
2 jobs
1 Alan
-----------------
lack of blog updates :(

Drinking Habits at work

2007-09-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've developed a drinking habit while at work. All this free access to liquid means that I must bring my body weight in fluid at least once a day. I try and drink water as much as possible but I've developed 2 habits. One good and one bad.

Meet bad habit. The Guru energy drink is available in both regular (pictured) and my personal favorite, sugar-free. These suckers are about the size of a normal red bull can. And easily as addicting. I've been known to drink up to 3 over the course of a day. Now the question of how this affects my health for better or worse is open to debate, I'm sure it's not entirely bad. However I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be drinking 3.

.
Now, for the good stuff, I've been drinking Kombucha once a day at lunch, along with a shot of Wheatgrass juice at lunch.
Wheatgrass juice, for those of you who have never tried it, tastes like lawn. End of story. It's health benefit appears dubious at best, but a man who drinks 3x diet guru's a day has to hedge his bets.
Kombucha on the other hand is awesome. It is definitely an acquired taste, my best way of describing it is like tea+beer+vinegar only not quite as disgusting. The awesome chef's here brew their own, and we also provide it in bottled from a vendor. I'm not sure if it's the drink, or the placebo effect, but I think Kombucha is really good stuff for the body. Give it a shot.

my new car

2007-09-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

is this!
it gets pretty good gas mileage, and having to contend with mountain view traffic definitely ensures you are awake and alert by the time you get to work! Thankfully I only ride it about 5 miles a day right now. I need to develop some bike mojo.

Palo Alto Goodwill

2007-09-03T21:45:00.001-07:00

Palo Alto Goodwill
Originally uploaded by alanreeves

this is truly a different planet

Noogled and Googled

2007-08-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

1. noogler
a new Google employee
(see also: Alan)

Ladies and Gentlemen, a long long overdue blog post is necessary.
I have just completed week 2 of my new life at Google. Margaret and I are moved in, and adjusting to living in Mountain View. I'm trying to cope with living so close to a Fry's Electronics, and an Apple Store. I got a new bicycle which I now ride to work, which gets me about 5 miles of bike travel a day. Which is key because the food at work is...amazing. I've eaten at restaurants all over the world, and every meal has started with "oh wow, this is the best xyz I've ever had!" Google employment fundamentally changes your relationship with food. It's free, plentiful, and the quality is amazing, you have to break free of the squirrel mentality of "omg food! eat it all!" That is so common today.
I also got this great Noogler hat, which actually has a spinning propeller on top, we all had to wear them for our introduction to the company.

Margaret has hinted that I've been a bit of a groomzilla lately, it's quite true. Everyone knows I'm picky, and quite frankly, I've been very unimpressed with most of the places we've looked at, especially for the amount of money they want to take from us, thats all ;)

So the update is, life is good! and very very busy!

;-)

2007-08-08T10:02:00.001-07:00

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by alanreeves

I start monday!

Alameda County Fair and other experiments

2007-07-05T20:42:00.001-07:00

IMG00024.jpg
Originally uploaded by alanreeves

behold! A deep fried twinkie.

I have a hat from Kazakhstan

2007-06-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

<----I got this guy from a co-worker who was recently there on business. This thing is awesome, and the conditions for accepting this gift is that I have to pose for photos while wearing it and send them back to Kazakhstan for publicity. I am not kidding.
this is great!

note to self

2007-05-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Stop watching the third movie in a trilogy

The Office (Computers)

2007-05-09T13:18:00.001-07:00

The second thing we were able to do with our office was actually use Apple Computers as primary workstations. Now that you've picked yourself up off the floor, we can continue.
The main reason we chose Apple is not the hardware, but OS X and Parallels. This allows the beasties to pull a hat trick. The OS X, Linux, Windows cocktail allow us to run apps that are platform specific, all on one station if we need to. Plus the design is so choice. This office will be staffed primarily by creative types. A recent article on Technology Review tries to explain the appeal of The Apple Macintosh and I think it does a fairly good job at it.

"...Norman says, when you're in a bad mood, when you're tense, you tend to be less creative--and less patient with the tools you're using. "Someone in a positive mood," Norman says, "faced with something that doesn't work, might say, 'Oh, I'll get around it.' But someone in a negative mood will get frustrated and have a 'Damn it' moment." That's where design comes in. "Studies tie attractive design to positive attitude," he says."

The Office (phones)

2007-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

Over the last two months about 80% of my brain was dedicated (still is) to designing a new office for the company. I got to create the budget, help pick out the commercial space to rent, and figure out everything from, computers, to white boards, to phones.
The budget was quickly and painlessly approved in full, and we start purchasing soon. It will be awesome. The next few blog posts will cover some of the neat ideas that we figured out to cut costs or stuff thats just generally really cool and I'm excited about it.
first up. Phones.

Phones are expensive. Duh. But for a small office they are even worse. The SOHO office market is not one most phone companies cater to very well. So I found these babies.
Each desk will have one of these phones, liked with Skype on an unlimited US calling plan for about $30 a month. The phone costs about $50. Our whole phone infrastructure using these phones and Skype will be about $1000-1500 up front, and a few hundred dollars a year. Comparable service from a major phone carrier would be about $10,000 up front and close to $500+ per year plus per minute usage. Ugh. The best part about skype is that your office phone number will seamlessly follow you. Plug in at the coffee shop down the street with this handset? You get all your calls and voicemail. Don't want your laptop for lunch? Thats why we bought a few of these----->
We scoped out coffee shops and places to eat around the office, and enough had free wi-fi to justify grabbing a few Skype enabled portable phones. Just login, and all your contacts, and voice mail route directly to the phone.

BarberShop Shave

2007-04-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, I've been on a mission to try and find a BarberShop that still performs the straightedge razor shave. Heck, I was having trouble just finding a real barbershop! Real Barbers are going the way of the milkman far too quickly. Like all things I look for, the Barber that performs this ritual was right under my nose. Now my face is completely devoid of scruff, my face hasn't been this smooth since age 8, I kid you not. So find a real barbershop and pay the extra $4 otherwise you will be forced to submit yourself to that place at the mall, where they ravage your head with the buzzer, between phone calls.

Baseball

2007-04-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true! I haven't thrown a baseball in seems like 10 years and I'm out there playing catch and running bases with a pack of 8 year olds. Our first game was supposed to be this Saturday but we got rained out =\
I had hoped, prayed, begged, to the fates that somehow my parents had kept my awesome, perfectly cared for baseball glove. The glove I begged my parents to spend the extra $20 on at big5 because it was the perfect baseball glove. I went through the painstaking ritual of placing the ball in the glove just right, wrapping rubber band after rubber band, then bungee cords to secure the the ball for periods of up to a week. Oiling the surface and cleaning, and making sure all the knots were tight. It was the holy grail of baseball gloves, and its gone.
I searched far and wide on the internets for another like it, and it was a sea of hideous black leather baseball gloves with golden leather accents, what the heck has happened to baseball gloves?!
I found a glove that came the close to my glove, apparently Rawlings is aware of this baseball glove nostalgia and charges a premium for a proper looking glove.
This little baby to your left is the closest thing I can find to the glove I had as a child. It now retails for $160 plus shipping. I couldn't bring myself to purchase it. I went to target and got a fairly respectable glove for about $25.

I'm sailing!

2007-04-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

So Margaret's dad went all Hemingway, and found himself a sailboat, took some classes, and invited us out to go sailing!
I woke up Sunday, had coffee, and noticed this book on the table, opened to this page. Not exactly inspiring.

Fortunately, the boat trip was fun and we both got a quick lesson in sailing. Looking forward to many many more trips out and about Berkeley bay =)

The News err..Podcast.. from Lake Wobegon

2007-02-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Garrison Keillor's long-running, whimsical show tells the stories of that fictional town, where "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." This is the show that Robert Altman turned into a pretty fun film.
I highly recommend that you at least try this podcast out, however it's not for everyone.

When Alan asked Margaret

2007-01-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

So everyone is now up to speed with our engagement. So now let me attempt to describe how I managed to pull it off. The location of our New Years trip was kept secret from Margaret for months. This is not an easy thing to do. I remember receiving a phone call very early in the morning; I think it was a Wednesday at like 2am.

"Where are we going?" "Nice try. Go to bed." “dang.” ::Click::
During these several weeks I was planning like a mad man, a man on a mission. Guys’, asking a girl to marry you is not unlike launching a space shuttle. You need planning, check lists, money, inclement weather plans, computers, and you cannot do it without a team. Also like a shuttle launch, it either works beautifully or it will explode in mid air. Thankfully we are in low earth orbit =)
So we made it to Paris, with Margaret blissfully unaware of the contents of my carry on bag. We stayed at the Hilton right next to the Eiffel Tower, which is a fabulous hotel; our room was huge and well furnished. I had booked us on a New Years river cruise, which was the stuff of cinema, a huge boat with a glass canopy, live music, amazing food, and everyone looking like extra’s from a James Bond movie. We got a seated next to this friendly gay couple who worked for a certain nameless theme park, and they were great table neighbors. They had been together for 22 years, which they explained, is like 75 years in gay years.

While Margaret was away I quickly explained to them my midnight engagement plans and they were thrilled. The cruise had our wall sized window right next to the Eiffel Tower at the stroke of midnight (I can’t recommend this cruise enough, it is worth every dime). The tower flashed and fireworks went off and bang it was 2007! Streamers, balloons, noisemakers everywhere! At this point I got up from the table, got down on one knee and asked Margaret to marry me. Our table neighbors, being the great people they are, grabbed my camera and snapped a few candid photos for us. Overall the most amazing night ever, and probably one of the first proposals of 2007 =)

Back from Paris

2007-01-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! We are back from Paris, here are some of the photos.
Life is busy right now but soon I will post the wonderful tale of how I asked Margaret to marry me (she said yes by the way!)
and how Paris is wonderful.

Out Of Office

2006-12-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

We're headed to Paris for new years.
I know...it's terrible, but we'll manage somehow ;-)

My Flickr pool of strange xmas ornaments

2006-12-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

Strange people
Originally uploaded by merlinprincesse.

What are blogs for if not shameless self promotion and vanity?
I've started a Flickr pool of Strange Christmas Ornaments. Join it and upload a photo of one of the strange ones on your Christmas tree. That way, when it comes to life. Oh it will... And turns everyone in your family in to little x mas ornaments, we'll know which one to avoid at the gypsy garage sale it will eventually end up in.

::update::
I made it on BoingBoing!
woot!

Because it's never too early to teach your kids to drink beer

2006-12-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Because it's never too early to teach your kids to drink beer
Originally uploaded by alanreeves.

A good friend of mine, who's blog is somewhere over THERE----->
gave me this awesome Christmas gift of children's training beer from Japan.
I just need to get a pack of candy cigarette's and I'm all set.

Merry Christmas Everyone

2006-12-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

Mighty Mite lights
Originally uploaded by TheDamnMushroom.

And colored lights for all

Gingerbread Men

2006-12-17T00:25:00.000-08:00

You know, it's more difficult to get gingerbread supplies this time of year than I thought. What the heck?
Mega Safeway= Sold Out of molasses, I mean come on people, it's December stock up on this stuff will ya? And not a Cookie Cutter in sight. Of course they offered pre-packaged, individually wrapped gingerbread cookies for like $2. Nice.

Not-so-mega Albertsons= Had the molasses, which is really good, because Margaret wanted to substitute maple syrup using the logic that they are right next to each other on the shelf. That crisis averted, we ventured forth but still no cookie cutters, and a swarm of shoppers had descended upon the baking isle like locusts on holiday, only their wheelie shoe wearing offspring were left.

We continue the quest for a gingerbread cookie cutter tomorrow.

Horrified christmas tree ornament

2006-12-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

IMG00029.jpg
Originally uploaded by alanreeves.

I think it used to be a wind mill only the wheel fell off,
but my brother hung it on the tree anyways and gathered us around to witness the little house screaming in terror.

Apocalypto a go go

2006-12-10T00:17:00.000-08:00

Oh wow where to begin, okay lets see, there's running....lots of fighting...gore...people get sacrificed...more running...more fighting... movies ends.
Morbid curiosity compelled me to go watch Mel Gibson's latest filmed in ancient native tongue language movie tonight. The plot of said movie is described above. The real horror lied within the audience. I seriously need to stop going to the movie theatre. CHILDREN were taken to this R-rated, *incredibly* violent and gory movie. Infants, toddlers, and grade schoolers at 7pm on a Saturday night. Watching skulls get hacked open on screen. Human sacrifice galore. The crescendo of horror peaked when I looked at the bloated child of the emperor watching intently while priests removed hearts and chopped heads for the crowd below. It then dawns on me that the fat children around me are doing the same thing, how meta is that? Perhaps the fall of civilization as we know it is at hand. Don't panic. Bring a towel.

Cellular providers pressuring Google over mobile apps

2006-11-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

Some cellular service providers are unhappy with their customers' downloading and using Google's mobile apps, and are leaning on Google to do something about it. That was the message Google head of special initiatives Chris Sacca passed on to an audience at Oxford University's Said Business School earlier this week.

read more | digg story

24-carat gold HP Laserjet p2015: cheaper than a PS3

2006-11-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

A 24-carat gold HP Laserjet p2015. On display at the GITEX show somewhere in Japan, this working prototype is up for auction with a starting price of US$299

read more | digg story

2006-11-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

Iraqi Kid Runs For Water

you can play soccer with these kids until the end of time, but I promise they'll only remember this. Nice going jerks.

Japanese Underwater Geometric Structures precedes Pyramids by 5000 years

2006-11-20T00:57:00.000-08:00

On the sea floor he found vast geometric structures cut out of the rock. There was evidence of stairs, and improbable angles in the stone. Efforts to date the monument are derived from the last time the area was above sea level, which would have been approximately 8,000-10,000 years ago
– about 3-5 millennia before Egypt's pyramids were erected

read more | digg story

Why instant messenger was created

2006-11-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

J
well, there is a brain

Me
a disembodied brain?

J
oh yes
didn't i tell you

Me
nooo

J
sooo...there was a course taught for the ling grads about the biology of the speech mechanism
and they received a disembodied head

Me
sweet!

J
and they took apart the facial skin, and excised the tongue
but...
they took out the brain to look at some piece of the auditory mechanism (not sure what) and realized that the person lacked some essential part of the mechanism
and they couldn't finish the research

Me
lol

J
but the person in charge of the brain - some professor from another university - seemed to disappear from prof XXXX's contact
so they were left with this brain that wasn't of use to them
and then XXXX retired, and prof yyyyy is now stuck with the brain, and so it just hangs out in room ### where experiments are run
and where i had my midnight lab sessions

Me
I can't believe a brain can fall through the cracks like that

J
IIIIIII KNOWWWW
it's not being taken care of at all, it just hangs out in a cabinet with screws and paintbrushes
it's not refrigerated....
laurel and i just discovered it one day when we were recording stuff and had a heart attack

Me
dude...steal it

Free PDF download of Transmetropolitan vol 1

2006-11-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

"After years of self-imposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job that he hates and a city that he loathes. Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 21st Century surroundings. Combining black humor, life-threatening situations, and moral ambiguity, this book is the first look into the mind of an outlaw journalist and the world he seeks to destroy." (DC)
-Via Warren Ellis
I got hooked on Transmet through a much less legitimate download that Ellis was kind enough to pseudo-endorse. I ended up reading all the issues over the course of a week. It is easily one of the most engrossing comics I've ever read.

Bananas, proof that God exists

2006-11-07T10:55:00.000-08:00


Well crap, I'm convinced. I see the error of my ways...

2006-11-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Moscow back in 1908, for every 50 YouTube videos featuring diet coke and mentos, you get one of these...It's totally worth it.

via boingboing.net

weapons grade java

2006-11-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

"In his workshop in Mekele, just 120 km from Ethiopia's border with Eritrea, Azmeraw Zeleke is turning burnt-out shells into cylinders used in coffee machines.

Most of the shells are left over from the 1998-2000 war between the two countries."

via Boingboing

2006-10-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

I feel it necessary to warn any potential drinkers of this drink called The Zombie. It is a tempestuous brew that honors it's namesake by shuffling towards you and violently devouring your brains upon drinking.
1/2 oz Bacardi® 151 rum
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz apricot brandy
1 tsp sugar
2 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice

Fried Coca-Cola Debuts in Texas

2006-10-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

"a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries. Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top."

read more | digg story

Family dog hooked on Toads

2006-10-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

"We noticed Lady spending an awful lot of time down by the pond in our backyard," Laura Mirsch recalls.

Lady would wander the area, disoriented and withdrawn, soporific and glassy-eyed.

"Then, late one night after I'd put the dogs out, Lady wouldn't come in," Laura Mirsch says. "She finally staggered over to me from the cattails. She looked up at me, leaned her head over and opened her mouth like she was going to throw up, and out plopped this disgusting toad."

It turned out the toads were toxic -- and, if licked, the fluids on their skin provided a hallucinogenic effect.
via NPR

Fox News Warns Viewers Of Upcoming Socialist Revolution

2006-10-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today on Fox News, Neil Cavuto had a segment asking whether Democrats will “crush the economy” if they win November’s elections. One of the guests, Jonathan Hoenig, said they would, because Democrats’ “overriding philosophy is socialism.” He further went on to describe the horrors of life under Democrats as like the island in Wicker Man, with a hint of Gattaca, cause they like teh sciences.

fascinating flikr set on North Korea

2006-10-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

CRW_5046
Originally uploaded by markwang99.

Because I'll never visit North Korea, I'll have to make do with this flikr set and the occasional documentary.

What's that sheep doing in the middle of a cloud bank?

2006-10-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Last year, thousands of JetBlue Airways passengers became unwitting participants in a highly unusual test of pilot fatigue.

Without seeking approval from Federal Aviation Administration headquarters, consultants for JetBlue outfitted a small number of pilots with devices to measure alertness. Operating on a green light from lower-level FAA officials, management assigned the crews to work longer shifts in the cockpit -- as many as 10 to 11 hours a day -- than the eight hours the government allows. Their hope: Showing that pilots could safely fly far longer without exhibiting ill effects from fatigue.

The results of the test haven't yet been made public -- they are expected to be published by the end of the year -- and JetBlue executives say even they don't know the findings. But the experiment has landed JetBlue in hot water while fueling a fierce debate within the airline industry about how long pilots should be allowed to stay at the controls.
Full Article Here via WSJ

Vegemite banned in the United States

2006-10-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

"The Australian icon has been deemed illegal in the US due to the classification of an ingredient. Because Vegemite contains added folate, which is now only allowed in breads and cereals, officials have began confiscating jars at the border."

Apparently you can have folate in your bread but not ON it...hmm..

read more | digg story

OMG Ponies

2006-10-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Standing just 17 inches tall, she is never going to be a champion show-jumper.She was born on a farm in America to a couple who specialise in breeding miniature horses.These popular show horses usually weigh about 250lb and reach a height of 34 inches when they are fully grown.Thumbelina's extraordinary size has been put down to dwarfism, which makes her a miniature of a miniature.

Attention Job Seekers

2006-10-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you want me to hire you, wear a tie to the interview for godsake! Also please try to know the difference between an inkjet and laser printers, and be able to remember the first computer you ever used...after all we do work in technology...that is all

You Know...

2006-10-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

alan2
Originally uploaded by kirillmazin.

This is just one of those photos where I could *try* to explain the story behind it, but it's just better to leave it up to you to fill in the blanks.

2006-10-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

Fox labeling Foley a Democrat

Honest mistake I'm sure...right?

Because Hell Boy was cool

2006-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00


Trailer for comic book adaptation of Frank Miller's cool looking-but-completely-inaccurate, spartan film titled 300. Count how many times "spartan" is thrown around in just the trailer alone.

Weird Al- White and Nerdy

2006-09-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

How perfect is this video?

I dare you

2006-09-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

to find candy more awesomely gross than this:

Each pack includes candy scabs and 5 plastic bandages which are stickable just like a real bandage. A plastic compartment on the bandage opens to reveal a pressed dextrose candy scab. Open the compartment, lick the candy, and reseal for licking later!

via BoingBoing

Major Geek

2006-09-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

I clock in at 41.8146% geek. This means I have obtained the rank major without being graded on any of the following items that could have pushed my score higher:

I own laserdiscs (thank you Margarita, you should add like 50 points to yours just because you bought them =) )
I own multiple versions of bladerunner

and can tell you the differences

Committed large parts of the Technical Encyclopedia of StarTrek to memory at one point.
I find myself looking for compression artifacts on DVD's without realizing it

I find them

The new anti-piracy dots put on movies in the theatre annoy the hell out of me
I've had my domain hijacked
I've painted lead figures

really well
for hours at a time

I *still* believe the internet has been going downhill since the invention of AOL and the WWW

Yes gopher was good enough
Yes I know it's still around

Maybe I should forward a few of these off to someone who can add em to the geek test.
you get the idea...

In all honesty my geek-gland has been withering significantly over the past few years. I know I would have scored higher several years ago. Scary eh?

2006-07-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Israeli school kids autograph artillery shells

18 Month old Rim Shahrur in the Rashidiyyah refugee camp near south Tyre.

via Siege of Lebanon

class-ay

2006-07-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Oh and by the way, if you happen to be needing evacuation, and you are a US citizen. You will be getting a bill for it once you hit the states...
And before you ask, yes we are the only country charging for it.

"buffer zone" also known as worst excuse ever.

2006-07-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Israel: We just want a "buffer zone" to push Hezbollah out of rocket range, honest.

Kathryn Cramer: ... from last night's bombing of Afula, I exptrapolated Hezbollah's new bombing reach in Google Earth (with a little help from Photoshop), assuming Hezbollah are shooting their rockets from south Lebanon.

Gee, looks like they only have to take over 80% of Lebanon to create a buffer zone. I'm going to guess that the live ammunition training on the border of Lebanon, that has been going on over the past MONTH was a mere coincidence.

Destroy your facebook profiles...now

2006-07-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

"Shortly after, he got the call he had been waiting for. A state agency wanted to interview him for an internship. He prepared for the interview and reviewed the types of questions that could be asked. He was ready, as ready as he could be.

But, during the interview, something he was not prepared for happened. The interviewer began asking specific questions about the content on his Facebook.com listing and the situation became very awkward and uncomfortable. The son had thought only those he allowed to access his profile would be able to do so. But, the interviewer explained that as a state agency, recruiters accessed his Facebook account under the auspices of the Patriot Act. "

read more | digg story

2006-06-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

Bryan Singer should get his own comic.
After successfully bringing the x-men to silver screen twice, and managing to pull off the coveted "sequel is better award" to boot. He abandons his x-men for a labor of love. Superman. It shows. The director and cast have studied the ancient celluloid and scripts of papyrus well.

The pacing is on target and the movie never felt long in the tooth despite weighing in at almost 3 hours long. Brandon Routh does an excellent job channeling Christopher Reeve and Kevin Spacey brings humor and menace to Luthor that Hackman was never able to convey (personally I blame the script).

No expense was spared on special effects, I mean none. Does this film “push ze envelope?” yeah. However… I find them a tad inconsistent. You can almost assign a dollar rating per shot depending on how life-like superman looks. The big scenes get physics to look right, material to move in a way that looks real, and you believe for the duration that superman is saving that damn plane. Other shots of him flying waver a bit and have a very “CG” look to them. This wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t give you such heaping spoonfuls of eye candy to prove that it can be done right not 15 minutes before. The film also has this full-screen glow effect going on that can sometimes make Routh’s skin look plastic, almost like a Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow thing going on(I’m sure you’ve ALL seen it). This could be on purpose of due to the fact that it's shot on the new magic cameras that are called High Definition. Or both.

Is it fun? Do I recommend you spend money and watch it?

Yes and God yes. Go now!

Weapon of mass destruction

2006-06-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I dare you to find a game more fun at party. Seriously. A friend introduced me to this over the weekend, and I've been jonesing to give it another shot ever since. So last night after a 3+ hour pitch matching, boot stomping, neighbor enraging, karaoke session I ruled at the following songs:

That's Amore
Joy to the world
I'm sure there are more...

We did what's called a knockout medley which means all the songs are randomly chosen, and clipped and crossfaded together and whoever is off pitch the most is gone. This is harder than it sounds and can lead to embarrassing yet hilarious situations as myself trying to belt out Toxic, and then my friends wife walking in on us singing the crap out of Everywhere by Michelle Branch...Awkward.

You know....

2006-06-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

IMG_4096
Originally uploaded by alanreeves.

I could *try* and explain this photo, but I'm just as confused as you are...seriously...

Modern Art at the Vatican

2006-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

IMG_2051.JPG
Originally uploaded by alanreeves.

I was going through my photos from Italy and came across this painting. Of course all I have is this quick snapshot and no information on it. All I remember is that I really really liked it, and that it was in the modern art section of the Vatican. Anyone have any information?

Real Robots from 1985!

2006-06-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I found this digg.
I was about 6 when I remember walking across two sweltering Los Angeles streets to the tiny public library, with my card in hand. Library cards were a big deal to me back then because I could check out books, tapes, movies, anything and bring it back home all on my own. This was one of the books I checked out frequently, I think by the 3rd time I checked it out I just stared at the robots, trying to figure out what radio shack parts were required to get my own.

read more | digg story

Cable cars and lack of oxygen

2006-06-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

Or, how I was forced to stop worrying about falling, and start focusing on breathing...

So the Teleférico in Merida has four stops and at the last station you are 4765 meters up in the air.
How high is that exactly? Well for us crazy US people, that’s about 15633 feet. This was way more nerve racking than the paragliding. Mostly because I was a lot higher with a lot less parachute. Also because there was a huge accident 2 years ago when a car fell and everyone on it died.

I'll post pictures when Blogger stops being dumb, but there was a good 3 minute block towards the last station where you travel through clouds, so you sit there in a little cable car, with cloud all around you, suspended thousands of feet into the air, and you just cant help be feel apprehensive. Thankfully oxygen deprivation calmed me down. Breathing was a bit of a chore for me up there. I had to sit down a few times when the blue spots started showing up in my field of vision. Having been familiar with passing out before (hypothermia, it was really fun) I knew the gray out and then thud were not far behind. Thankfully I stayed conscious for the whole thing, 2 school kids weren't that lucky though; they passed out and had to be quickly carried in to the medical area for oxygen. Margaret was, as usual, fine. The thin atmosphere did little to slow her down. I'm beginning to think she's superwoman.

(Us passing through the clouds)

Back from Venezuela!

2006-06-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

I lived! The cable car didn't crash, I had a blast I will be posting pictures with little stories in non-chronographical
here is the first one:
We went paragliding!
And I took a photo of my shoe to prove it! Somehow Margaret conviced me to run straight off a mountian about 1000 meters tall with a parachute. I even managed to take some pics midair which are up on flickr. I was only scared a little bit, it's really amazing what thin air can do to you, afraid of high places Alan became docile Alan. Once I was strapped in with the pilot and he says on the count of three just run straight off the edge, you feel pretty committed by the count of 2 so when 3 hits you have no problems running like mad.

Consider this your out of office message

2006-05-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

I've taken the liberty of fleeing the country for a period of one week. If I return you will be getting a ton of photos to look at. I'm just totally convinced this thing will kill me. I hope I'm wrong. My last experience with cable cars was my absolute refusal to board one in Disneyland several years ago. My family got on despite my telling them "it's going to break I can feel it". And it did. I got to watch them be stuck in that little box for at least an hour before they were able to get down. Ever since cable cars just seem like a bad idea. Especially when they are like 928374589376 feet above ground and lead up to one of the highest points on the continent. So expect either a ton of really high altitude and hopefully good looking photos, or very few updates...ever. =P See you all in one week

Egypt to excavate Roman city submerged in sea

2006-05-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Egyptian authorities have given the go ahead for the underwater exploration of what appears to be a Roman city submerged in the Mediterranean, Egypt\'s top archaeologist said on Monday.

read more | digg story

False Propaganda: Iran eyes badges for Jews

2006-05-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

The recent digg story so many happily jumped on is patently false. Iran did NOT a pass a new requiring the Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges.

read more | digg story

Iran eyes badges for Jews

2006-05-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.
"The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth."

read more | digg story

Pygmy rabbits deemed too cute to live by nature...

2006-05-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Via the AP " The last male purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit has died, leaving just two females in a captive breeding program created to try to save the endangered species from extinction.

The tiny rabbits are only found in Douglas County in north-central Washington. None are believed to exist in the wild, which means the two females — Lolo and Bryn — are the only known purebred pygmy rabbits left in existence."

read more | digg story

Marvel Zombies! How cool is this?

2006-05-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Marvel Zombies is the name of the Marvel Comics miniseries about an alternate world where an alien virus mutated all the superheroes into flesh-eating zombies. The series is written by Robert Kirkman and drawn by Sean Phillips, with painted covers by Arthur Suydam. The title "Marvel Zombies" is a play on words of the pejorative term used for Marvel Comics fans.

I've read the first 2 issues and it's great stuff, if anyone posts a freebie issue or page I'll let you know

Elevator/Lift Hacking

2006-05-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

This article details methods of making lifts/elevators get to your floor without stopping. Similar to the srticle on Darknet but with a few more tricks included.

read more | digg story

Isn't it Ionic? Air Purifiers Make Smog

2006-05-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Here's how to create your own personal Stage 2 Smog Alert: Buy an indoor air purifier.

Using a popular process called ionization, the air cleaners can actually generate ozone levels in a room that exceed the worst smog days in Los Angeles, a new study finds.

read more | digg story

Polar Bear Turns Purple After Medication

2006-05-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

The unusual color , a temporary side effect of the treatment for dermatitis, has turned the aging bear into a minor celebrity in Argentina and prompted thousands of schoolchildren and tourists to make their way to the Jardin Zoologico de Mendoza in the western city beneath the snow-capped Andes.

read more | digg story

al Qaeda using US video games in youth propaganda

2006-05-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

via Yahoo News via Reuters

Tech-savvy militants from al Qaeda and other groups have modified video war games so that U.S. troops play the role of bad guys in running gunfights against heavily armed Islamic radical heroes, Defense Department official and contractors told Congress.
The underlying propaganda message, officials say, is that the United States is waging a crusade against Islam in order to control Middle Eastern oil, and that Muslims should fight to protect Islam from humiliation.

One of the latest video games modified by militants is the popular "Battlefield 2" from leading video game publisher, Electronic Arts Inc of Redwood City, California. Battlefield 2 ordinarily shows U.S. troops engaging forces from China or a united Middle East coalition. But in a modified video trailer posted on Islamic Web sites and shown to lawmakers, the game depicts a man in Arab headdress carrying an automatic weapon into combat with U.S. invaders.
'I was just a boy when the infidels came to my village in Blackhawk helicopters,' a narrator's voice said as the screen flashed between images of street-level gunfights, explosions and helicopter assaults.
Then came a recording of
President George W. Bush's September 16, 2001, statement: 'This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.' It was edited to repeat the word 'crusade,' which Muslims often define as an attack on Islam by Christianity."

read more | digg story

China recreates American neighborhoods!

2006-05-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Some neighborhoods in China are exact replicas of those in the United States, namely Soho, Central Park, Palm Springs and Manhattan Gardens. They import all the material and even the architects and interior designers are from southern California and L.A.!"

This is so Alias...

read more | digg story

Did your phone just ring? Are you sure?

2006-05-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's happened to all of us atleast once. We think someones calling, we check out cellphone only to find that no one has. This audio illusion — called phantom phone rings or, more whimsically, ringxiety or fauxcellarm — has emerged recently as an Internet discussion topic and has become a new reason for people to either bemoan the techno-saturation of modern life or question their sanity.

read more | digg story

Teaser Trailer for Casino Royale

2006-05-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is THE teaser trailer for Casino Royale, the new James Bond movie...in English. This is actually the first JB movie I'm even interested in since Goleneye. It appears to be a "reset" of the series, like a Batman Begins.

read more | digg story

Male birth-control pill is a step closer to reality

2006-04-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's been stepping for years now. Where's my jump, leap, or even shuffle? Hurry. up!

read more | digg story

Madrid Train Bombers Used E-mail Trick to Avoid Gov't Detection

2006-04-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Instead of sending the messages, the suspect, Hassan El Haski, saved them as drafts on accounts he shared with other radicals. They all knew the password and so they could access the accounts to read his comments and post replies, according to the judge. This ruse meant that there was no digital trail that the authorities could easily trace, according to the judge and government. Had the messages been e- mailed, the government might have monitored them, as is common across Europe.

Intelligence officials have said in the past that terrorist groups were using the trick, which investigators call a "virtual dead drop."

read more | digg story

V for Vendetta... and C for Cookie!

2006-04-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sesame Street and V for Vendetta mashup trailer "C for Cookie"...awesome.

Life without numbers in a unique Amazon tribe

2006-04-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

"Adult Piraha apparently can't learn to count or understand the concept of numbers or numerals, even when they asked anthropologists to teach them and have been given basic math lessons for months at a time...Prof. Gordon said the findings are perhaps the strongest evidence for a once largely discredited linguistic theory. More than 60 years ago, amateur linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf argued that learning a specific language determined the nature and content of how you think. That theory fell into intellectual disrepute after linguist Noam Chomsky's notions of a universal human grammar and Harvard University professor Steven Pinker's idea of a universal language instinct became widely accepted. "

read more | digg story

2006-04-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

And it's only $7.99!
Found on Boingboing

Russian Site shows examples of Disney's recycling

2006-04-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

This interesting Russian Site details some of the examples of Disney's
recycling of art in other movies.

Coke Blak

2006-04-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

I picked up a bottle during lunch today to test it out,
verdict: It's good......damn good, and other non-soda drinking coworkers agree.

To boldly go where Alias has gone before?

2006-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

"The as-yet-untitled "Star Trek" feature, the 11th since 1979, is aiming for a fall 2008 release through Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc. unit looking to restore its box-office luster under new management, the trade paper said.
The project will be directed by J.J. Abrams, whose Tom Cruise vehicle "Mission: Impossible III" will be released by Paramount on May 5. Abrams, famed for producing the TV shows "Alias" and "Lost," will also help write and produce.
Daily Variety said the action would center on the early days of "Star Trek" characters James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, including their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer-space mission."

While my hopes for MI-3 are somewhere under my fridge, I admit that Alias and Lost both rock...hard. I hope some Alias and Lost mojo will rub off on ST and bring that series back from the dead. I'm not really happy about the time frame, I think Star Trek needs to look forward in it's time-line. Enterprise put the already dicey continuity of Star Trek in a blender, hit "crush", and left the top off. Star Trek has always been about pushing forward from the farthest point of the known, and this new trend of recursion doesn't give me warm and fuzzies...

No story...

2006-04-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

The face
Originally uploaded by The Department.

Just wanted to share this pic I came across in Flikr...
Kid's like this *run* the daycare

Jet Blue- Family Guy- Easter Egg

2006-04-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Select a destination then hold down shift and type pbj

Instantly a scene from the Family Guy will appear on Jet Blues website.

Just when you thought your brain was safe!

read more | digg story

Guess who has a blogger account

2006-04-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Kevin Ray Underwood's blog hasn't been taken down by google yet. Morbid curiosity got the best of me so I looked it over for awhile to see if carried any tell tale signs, something like a big red flashing neon light that reads psycho. What I found however is that his blog is astoundingly...average. A 26 year old drop-out with depression problems, he worked fast-food jobs and buried his head in movies and video games.

"I'm a loser. Last night I got drunk and watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show. By myself."

Growing ever more frustrated with his depression and situation in life, he writes:

"I mean it, I really need a girlfriend. It's not just depressing anymore, it's actually starting to have a negative effect on my mental state I think. For example, my fantasies are just getting weirder and weirder. Dangerously weird. If people knew the kinds of things I think about anymore, I'd probably be locked away. No probably about it, I know I would be."

New Orleans Mayorial Candidate Uses Photo from Disneyland on Website

2006-04-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Controversial candidate for New Orleans Mayor, Kimberly Williamson Butler, uses a photoshopped photo from Disneyland's New Orlean's Square on her election website.

read more | digg story