Entertainment bites
I’ve got to get better categories for these posts!
Anyhew, enjoy!
I really like my xbox 360 (currently playing Jade Empire & Rock Band 2), but I don’t play much with strangers on it, even though it’s got the best online video game system (non-PC). This is one of the reasons why:
Topless Robot - The 10 People You Meet on Xbox Live
The Video Game Revolution: "Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked" by Henry Jenkins | PBS
Mad Geophysics: Magnetic Anomaly Map of the World
Brian Cox on CERN's supercollider | Video on TED.com - more info on the LHC by a great lecturer (very short talk)
Pictured: The 20-stone sumo girl... aged just 14 - Girls just wanna have fu’un! (wedgies are fun, right?) Amazing size for one so young.
ABC News: Exclusive: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans - I often tease my family members and friends who are very pro-privacy (eg. they don’t use grocery discount cards, prefer cash, and hide their bridge-toll detectors in foil when not going near a toll) as I often use and can understand the reasons for wanting to collect such information. But the phone-tapping by the NSA is way way way over the line. Hasn’t The Dark Knight taught us that this is bad bad?
Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret - I could have used this function during my jet-lagged mornings and nights after returning from Sweden. Doh!
Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus: 'I'm destroying the village to save it' - My favorite long-running comic is gone... again!
Revealed: Plans to build the world's tallest building at 1km high - So, I”m speaking at a conference in Dubai next March and I’m looking forward to seeing all of the crazy skyscrapers that already exist there, but this one... this one is breathtaking!
Topless Robot - Doctor Who Has No Idea What You're Doing Here - Can’t believe I watched the entire video. More to remind myself what all of the Dr. Who characters looked like (why did they get younger with every iteration? Is this like a Mork from Ork thing?)
Topless Robot - Rock Band Needs "The Touch" - Maybe you’re impressed? Maybe you’re just embarrassed, but I sing this song out loud every once in the while when I hit a few buttons to make things work and, of course, while striking a Saturday Night Fever pose.
Can’t Open Your E-Mailbox? Good Luck - NYTimes.com - This actually has me very nervous. Do NOT let someone take over your gmail account. I’ve got redundant accounts just in case this happens, but I hope I never have to deal with it. Be afraid!
Anyhew, enjoy!
I really like my xbox 360 (currently playing Jade Empire & Rock Band 2), but I don’t play much with strangers on it, even though it’s got the best online video game system (non-PC). This is one of the reasons why:
Topless Robot - The 10 People You Meet on Xbox Live
The Video Game Revolution: "Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked" by Henry Jenkins | PBS
Mad Geophysics: Magnetic Anomaly Map of the World
Brian Cox on CERN's supercollider | Video on TED.com - more info on the LHC by a great lecturer (very short talk)
Pictured: The 20-stone sumo girl... aged just 14 - Girls just wanna have fu’un! (wedgies are fun, right?) Amazing size for one so young.
ABC News: Exclusive: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans - I often tease my family members and friends who are very pro-privacy (eg. they don’t use grocery discount cards, prefer cash, and hide their bridge-toll detectors in foil when not going near a toll) as I often use and can understand the reasons for wanting to collect such information. But the phone-tapping by the NSA is way way way over the line. Hasn’t The Dark Knight taught us that this is bad bad?
Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret - I could have used this function during my jet-lagged mornings and nights after returning from Sweden. Doh!
Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus: 'I'm destroying the village to save it' - My favorite long-running comic is gone... again!
Revealed: Plans to build the world's tallest building at 1km high - So, I”m speaking at a conference in Dubai next March and I’m looking forward to seeing all of the crazy skyscrapers that already exist there, but this one... this one is breathtaking!
Topless Robot - Doctor Who Has No Idea What You're Doing Here - Can’t believe I watched the entire video. More to remind myself what all of the Dr. Who characters looked like (why did they get younger with every iteration? Is this like a Mork from Ork thing?)
Topless Robot - Rock Band Needs "The Touch" - Maybe you’re impressed? Maybe you’re just embarrassed, but I sing this song out loud every once in the while when I hit a few buttons to make things work and, of course, while striking a Saturday Night Fever pose.
Can’t Open Your E-Mailbox? Good Luck - NYTimes.com - This actually has me very nervous. Do NOT let someone take over your gmail account. I’ve got redundant accounts just in case this happens, but I hope I never have to deal with it. Be afraid!
|
All these small things
Oct 10, 2008 21:08 Filed in: Life
It’s been 3+ weeks since our last visit and much has
happened (which seems correlated as we look at the
past evidence). Shall we take a trip?
Halloween time
Last night I celebrated my friend, Angela’s, birthday at the local Vala’s pumpkin patch. Was so much fun feeding goats (see pics for “2-headed” goat), haunted house, running through the corn-field maze, wandering a pumpkin field and riding/singing on a hay-rack ride. Regressed 20 years, easily.
In the maze, which was huge!, I
had a habit of running ahead, hiding around
corners and surprising the group. One time I ran
ahead without my partner in crime, Merinda, and
found the perfect hiding spot. But the group
wasn’t coming by. Smaller groups did, and none
of them saw me. Once a staff person was making
the rounds with a bright flashlight, so I jumped
out and acted innocent. Went back to hiding...
more people passed, still no group. Then a kid
run up the path and crawled backwards right in
front of me. She wasn’t going to do the same
thing as me. So I decided to scare the crap out
of her, first. Boo! She about messed her pants,
but she held it together so she could scare her
kids (yes, apparently she was much older, just
acted young... hmm, sounds familiar). She
pointed to the husband at me, and he made the
comment, “yeah, that looks like a good place to
hide” as he didn’t even see me as I was further
in the corn. Then when she pointed me out again,
the whole group started to freak out. Still, I
waited... after 15 minutes I gave up. I ran
through the rest of the maze and found the group
waiting for me on a bench. Apparently they went
backwards and back the way we came in! Ugh! My
perfect plan failed. Still, so much silliness
and fun!
Hosted several more game & movie nights, played some new rock band 2 (new drums rock!), and have gotten my share of football games watched (could the Chiefs be any worse?). Finished the final pieces of my basement rec room (last curtains, pictures), too, so soon there will be a post of what I actually did on it.
I taught two 3-hour lectures on health outcomes (focused on physical measures and quality of life) in this new graduate-level public health class. It has been so long since I taught! And I really enjoyed it! (no real surprise) May have to revisit this thing again in the future...
There will be tree...
Apparently my tree, that was split down the middle, will go on to live several more years. It will cost me $1100 to have it completely removed or $300 to have it trimmed nicely. The arborist said that it won’t look good and I’ll have to watch for beetles/infections, but it should last a while. I was so happy as the leaves have come back in deep green and the inside of it has started to grey as if trying to grow new bark (or it’s just dirty).
Trip to Sweden
I took my first official vacation trip in Sept to Stockholm. I spent a week visiting a new friend, Marie, making new ones, and catching up with old ones, too. It didn’t all go the way I had hoped (it was cold!), but I made the most of seeing the many sights (see picture section). Notably, watched Marie’s brother play in the championship American Football game. His team only had 16 players including a girl (see pics), while the other team had 40+. What impressed me was that they were winning until the 2nd half when they were just worn out (he played both offense & defensive lineman - EVERY play!). Though they lost, her brother won MVP - for only age 19, he’s very impressive. I had fun watching, cheering and explaining to worried mothers around me what was happening. Was hard when one son got injured - his mom ran to the end of the of the stadium to help, but resisted when he started limping off the field. New perspective for me. Went to many museums, areas of note, got familiar with the subway system, ate way too much high-fat butter & yogurt, lots of breads, and got a supply of Coke Zero going (again, fairly popular there, too). Took lots of pictures of the great scientific designs on one of the subway stops, and other pictures of random dogs, babies and other notable signs. Note, it’s hard to get pictures of people’s babies! Why was I doing this? Well, a friend in Omaha challenged me with this task - I got a lot, but I’m sure some thought about calling me out. I was very smooth - like a secret agent.
Rant about age
While in Stockholm I befriended an attractive stranger (Natasha) on my way to the National Swedish Museum. Even though she was from Moscow and had a thick accent, we hit it off well. Near the end she asked me how old I was - apparently she thought I was 27 (not so uncommon with my baby face, it seems). The issue was, I thought she was near 30 (I said 26), but she was actually 21. Not like I was looking to date, but apparently that wigged her out and put an end to our plans to meet up again. OH well. Back in the US I asked a 24-yr old PhD student out, and while she was flattered, she said I was too old (again, fair enough as 24 is my lower limit on the “creepiness” scale). The same day, I’m buying a bunch of liquor and at this point I’m chanting in my head “You better not ask, you better not ask...” - the guy, of course, asks to see my ID. I grunt. Get it out and ask how old I had to look for him to ask. He said “27 or younger”. Crap! OK, so while many people think it’s a blessing to look young (and I agree), it has not been kind to me in the social arena!
For something cute, be sure to see the latest TB picture in the cat section. I have more trips coming again soon, but that’s it for the year. Plus I’ve been working on the new murder mystery party - a jungle themed event!
Until the next time...
Halloween time
Last night I celebrated my friend, Angela’s, birthday at the local Vala’s pumpkin patch. Was so much fun feeding goats (see pics for “2-headed” goat), haunted house, running through the corn-field maze, wandering a pumpkin field and riding/singing on a hay-rack ride. Regressed 20 years, easily.
In the maze, which was huge!, I
had a habit of running ahead, hiding around
corners and surprising the group. One time I ran
ahead without my partner in crime, Merinda, and
found the perfect hiding spot. But the group
wasn’t coming by. Smaller groups did, and none
of them saw me. Once a staff person was making
the rounds with a bright flashlight, so I jumped
out and acted innocent. Went back to hiding...
more people passed, still no group. Then a kid
run up the path and crawled backwards right in
front of me. She wasn’t going to do the same
thing as me. So I decided to scare the crap out
of her, first. Boo! She about messed her pants,
but she held it together so she could scare her
kids (yes, apparently she was much older, just
acted young... hmm, sounds familiar). She
pointed to the husband at me, and he made the
comment, “yeah, that looks like a good place to
hide” as he didn’t even see me as I was further
in the corn. Then when she pointed me out again,
the whole group started to freak out. Still, I
waited... after 15 minutes I gave up. I ran
through the rest of the maze and found the group
waiting for me on a bench. Apparently they went
backwards and back the way we came in! Ugh! My
perfect plan failed. Still, so much silliness
and fun!
Hosted several more game & movie nights, played some new rock band 2 (new drums rock!), and have gotten my share of football games watched (could the Chiefs be any worse?). Finished the final pieces of my basement rec room (last curtains, pictures), too, so soon there will be a post of what I actually did on it.
I taught two 3-hour lectures on health outcomes (focused on physical measures and quality of life) in this new graduate-level public health class. It has been so long since I taught! And I really enjoyed it! (no real surprise) May have to revisit this thing again in the future...
There will be tree...
Apparently my tree, that was split down the middle, will go on to live several more years. It will cost me $1100 to have it completely removed or $300 to have it trimmed nicely. The arborist said that it won’t look good and I’ll have to watch for beetles/infections, but it should last a while. I was so happy as the leaves have come back in deep green and the inside of it has started to grey as if trying to grow new bark (or it’s just dirty).
Trip to Sweden
I took my first official vacation trip in Sept to Stockholm. I spent a week visiting a new friend, Marie, making new ones, and catching up with old ones, too. It didn’t all go the way I had hoped (it was cold!), but I made the most of seeing the many sights (see picture section). Notably, watched Marie’s brother play in the championship American Football game. His team only had 16 players including a girl (see pics), while the other team had 40+. What impressed me was that they were winning until the 2nd half when they were just worn out (he played both offense & defensive lineman - EVERY play!). Though they lost, her brother won MVP - for only age 19, he’s very impressive. I had fun watching, cheering and explaining to worried mothers around me what was happening. Was hard when one son got injured - his mom ran to the end of the of the stadium to help, but resisted when he started limping off the field. New perspective for me. Went to many museums, areas of note, got familiar with the subway system, ate way too much high-fat butter & yogurt, lots of breads, and got a supply of Coke Zero going (again, fairly popular there, too). Took lots of pictures of the great scientific designs on one of the subway stops, and other pictures of random dogs, babies and other notable signs. Note, it’s hard to get pictures of people’s babies! Why was I doing this? Well, a friend in Omaha challenged me with this task - I got a lot, but I’m sure some thought about calling me out. I was very smooth - like a secret agent.
Rant about age
While in Stockholm I befriended an attractive stranger (Natasha) on my way to the National Swedish Museum. Even though she was from Moscow and had a thick accent, we hit it off well. Near the end she asked me how old I was - apparently she thought I was 27 (not so uncommon with my baby face, it seems). The issue was, I thought she was near 30 (I said 26), but she was actually 21. Not like I was looking to date, but apparently that wigged her out and put an end to our plans to meet up again. OH well. Back in the US I asked a 24-yr old PhD student out, and while she was flattered, she said I was too old (again, fair enough as 24 is my lower limit on the “creepiness” scale). The same day, I’m buying a bunch of liquor and at this point I’m chanting in my head “You better not ask, you better not ask...” - the guy, of course, asks to see my ID. I grunt. Get it out and ask how old I had to look for him to ask. He said “27 or younger”. Crap! OK, so while many people think it’s a blessing to look young (and I agree), it has not been kind to me in the social arena!
For something cute, be sure to see the latest TB picture in the cat section. I have more trips coming again soon, but that’s it for the year. Plus I’ve been working on the new murder mystery party - a jungle themed event!
Until the next time...
Around the world wide world
OK, it’s been a little over 2 weeks, and we’re back.
While I was overseas I didn’t stop collecting links,
but I’m using old technology and can’t update this
blog until I’m back home.
Technology/Science
Astronauts Return Safely to China - NYTimes.com - Did any of you know about this?
Private Company Launches Its Rocket Into Orbit - NYTimes.com - What about this?
Science News / Snapshot Of A Planet Beyond The Solar System - Or this? Clearly I’m getting excited about the future of space!
YouTube - end of the world?, the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) - Educational and entertaining video of what the LHC actually is. Yes, I miss physics, but am happy to be on the outside.
Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the earth yet? - related to the above for those of you who want to stay on top of things.
Health/Psych/Personal Improvement/My Job
How to Overcome Resentment | ThinkSimpleNow.com - In case you’re in a resentful kind of mood, here are some pointers to get through it (though when really resentful, do we want to get over it?)
A New Epidemic - YouTube - This is related to my research. Fascinating subject - the idea of disease mongering. Nice BMJ article about non-diseases and how most anything normal these days is treated like an ailment or disease for many reasons, but often to sell drugs/remedies as well.
New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis - Interesting new article on osteoarthritis. Yes, more shop talk, but strange to find an arthritis article on a physics web site.
Going Big - Harlem Renaissance - This American Life - I was recently asked what podcasts I listen to. If you’ve gone through my blog, you’ll only find mention of RadioLab. But I listen to NPR regularly and greatly enjoy This American Life. This week covered a man and his effort to reduce poverty in Harlem and how it led him to teach mothers how to be better parents by talking and reading to their babies. How just the increase in the number of words used and interaction could have such a great impact long-term. Seems also appropriate as a friend told me she thinks anyone who uses corporal punishment on their kids should be locked away. I disagreed and commented that people made too big of a deal about this, but that a quick spank or something to get a kids attention wasn’t so bad. But the more I thought about it, the more I questioned how I would be as a future-father. Let’s just say that I’m not so rigid in my beliefs.
The Incredible Podcast Episode 1: What online gaming parents know that you don't - Sent from Katie. Maybe you’ll all start playing more online games now?
Medicare Drug Premium on Rise - WSJ.com - Grandma, be sure to check out what your new rates will be. You may want to change to something better for you.
UNMC Today Headlines - Dr. Michaud awarded Arthritis Foundation New Investigator Grant - This was top of UNMC daily paper while I was away. I got so much “press” after it, even though I got this grant last July. What a difference some PR makes. Oh, and lots of comments on the new, cheesy smile picture.
Religion: why do people believe in God? - Telegraph - Thought provoking article, but clearly short and overly simplistic (but therefore quick digestible for a mid-day snack )
Politics
Don't Vote - CollegeHumor video - More for the younger peeps (?), but entertaining vid of lots of famous actors trying to get you to vote.
The Great Schlep - More Sarah Silverman trying to get us to get our family members in Florida to vote Obama. Funnay!
Experience 101 - Dick Cavett - Opinion - New York Times Blog - So many articles about the debates and the election, but enjoyed this fellow Nebraskan’s take from a few weeks ago.
Movies/TV/Sports/Games
Wehastrouble - Don’t view picture unless you’ve played any of the Settlers of Catan or CATAN games.
ESPN - There's no argument where the best QBs live: the Big 12 - Columnist - The Big XII in college football has shown it’s got great teams. Now they start to cannibalize each other in the coming weeks. Still, fun games!
Spore’s Piracy Problem - Forbes.com - the biggest computer game to arrive in years has gotten lots of protests from users due to its new copyright management. Revenge of the nerds!
Film - Disney Prepares to Use Its Marketing Magic to Bring Back the Muppets - NYTimes.com - I’ve had several comments about upcoming Muppet events planned and now I see it’s all part of a larger strategy of Disney, but I am concerned since the Muppets were more for adults, their edgy comedy. ABC put them with mindless kid-fare sitcoms back with Muppets Tonight (which was brilliant, btw) in 1991 or so, and it didn’t do well... I’m curious to see how much the brand is altered to make them appealing to the current-day kids.
Geeky Movies' Top 10 Coolest Kids | Geekdad from Wired.com - What happened to SpyKids? At least our geek from Real Genius made the cut.
South Park protest in Russia - remember when I mentioned that Russia wanted to ban South Park, well, some Russians aren’t happy about that. Check out the pics!
Ranking The Films Of The Coen Brothers | Movie Crunch - So many great movies by these guys. Though I haven’t seen their worst two on this list (or the new one).
Misc
Spippo's deviantART Gallery - These aren’t the My Little Pony ponies that we had - I like them even better!
YouTube - Ninja cat comes closer while not moving! - Hilarious cat video!
NIN Dazzles With Lasers, LEDs and Stealth Screens - They’re in town next month and I plan to attend (which is a big deal since I’m not a fan of most concerts, let alone hard alt rock ones).
Hallowindow - Mark Gervais - Amazing video this guy projected on his house’s windows for Halloween. Hmm... giving me ideas.
Enchanting Essentials - a new web site for my cousin’s, Summer’s, soap/care products company out in Oregon.
Technology/Science
Astronauts Return Safely to China - NYTimes.com - Did any of you know about this?
Private Company Launches Its Rocket Into Orbit - NYTimes.com - What about this?
Science News / Snapshot Of A Planet Beyond The Solar System - Or this? Clearly I’m getting excited about the future of space!
YouTube - end of the world?, the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) - Educational and entertaining video of what the LHC actually is. Yes, I miss physics, but am happy to be on the outside.
Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the earth yet? - related to the above for those of you who want to stay on top of things.
Health/Psych/Personal Improvement/My Job
How to Overcome Resentment | ThinkSimpleNow.com - In case you’re in a resentful kind of mood, here are some pointers to get through it (though when really resentful, do we want to get over it?)
A New Epidemic - YouTube - This is related to my research. Fascinating subject - the idea of disease mongering. Nice BMJ article about non-diseases and how most anything normal these days is treated like an ailment or disease for many reasons, but often to sell drugs/remedies as well.
New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis - Interesting new article on osteoarthritis. Yes, more shop talk, but strange to find an arthritis article on a physics web site.
Going Big - Harlem Renaissance - This American Life - I was recently asked what podcasts I listen to. If you’ve gone through my blog, you’ll only find mention of RadioLab. But I listen to NPR regularly and greatly enjoy This American Life. This week covered a man and his effort to reduce poverty in Harlem and how it led him to teach mothers how to be better parents by talking and reading to their babies. How just the increase in the number of words used and interaction could have such a great impact long-term. Seems also appropriate as a friend told me she thinks anyone who uses corporal punishment on their kids should be locked away. I disagreed and commented that people made too big of a deal about this, but that a quick spank or something to get a kids attention wasn’t so bad. But the more I thought about it, the more I questioned how I would be as a future-father. Let’s just say that I’m not so rigid in my beliefs.
The Incredible Podcast Episode 1: What online gaming parents know that you don't - Sent from Katie. Maybe you’ll all start playing more online games now?
Medicare Drug Premium on Rise - WSJ.com - Grandma, be sure to check out what your new rates will be. You may want to change to something better for you.
UNMC Today Headlines - Dr. Michaud awarded Arthritis Foundation New Investigator Grant - This was top of UNMC daily paper while I was away. I got so much “press” after it, even though I got this grant last July. What a difference some PR makes. Oh, and lots of comments on the new, cheesy smile picture.
Religion: why do people believe in God? - Telegraph - Thought provoking article, but clearly short and overly simplistic (but therefore quick digestible for a mid-day snack
)
Politics
Don't Vote - CollegeHumor video - More for the younger peeps (?), but entertaining vid of lots of famous actors trying to get you to vote.
The Great Schlep - More Sarah Silverman trying to get us to get our family members in Florida to vote Obama. Funnay!
Experience 101 - Dick Cavett - Opinion - New York Times Blog - So many articles about the debates and the election, but enjoyed this fellow Nebraskan’s take from a few weeks ago.
Movies/TV/Sports/Games
Wehastrouble - Don’t view picture unless you’ve played any of the Settlers of Catan or CATAN games.
ESPN - There's no argument where the best QBs live: the Big 12 - Columnist - The Big XII in college football has shown it’s got great teams. Now they start to cannibalize each other in the coming weeks. Still, fun games!
Spore’s Piracy Problem - Forbes.com - the biggest computer game to arrive in years has gotten lots of protests from users due to its new copyright management. Revenge of the nerds!
Film - Disney Prepares to Use Its Marketing Magic to Bring Back the Muppets - NYTimes.com - I’ve had several comments about upcoming Muppet events planned and now I see it’s all part of a larger strategy of Disney, but I am concerned since the Muppets were more for adults, their edgy comedy. ABC put them with mindless kid-fare sitcoms back with Muppets Tonight (which was brilliant, btw) in 1991 or so, and it didn’t do well... I’m curious to see how much the brand is altered to make them appealing to the current-day kids.
Geeky Movies' Top 10 Coolest Kids | Geekdad from Wired.com - What happened to SpyKids? At least our geek from Real Genius made the cut.
South Park protest in Russia - remember when I mentioned that Russia wanted to ban South Park, well, some Russians aren’t happy about that. Check out the pics!
Ranking The Films Of The Coen Brothers | Movie Crunch - So many great movies by these guys. Though I haven’t seen their worst two on this list (or the new one).
Misc
Spippo's deviantART Gallery - These aren’t the My Little Pony ponies that we had - I like them even better!
YouTube - Ninja cat comes closer while not moving! - Hilarious cat video!
NIN Dazzles With Lasers, LEDs and Stealth Screens - They’re in town next month and I plan to attend (which is a big deal since I’m not a fan of most concerts, let alone hard alt rock ones).
Hallowindow - Mark Gervais - Amazing video this guy projected on his house’s windows for Halloween. Hmm... giving me ideas.
Enchanting Essentials - a new web site for my cousin’s, Summer’s, soap/care products company out in Oregon.