sluggobear

Posted via Posterous.

• Please welcome Krystian, aka starman371, to LJ!
• If Verizon carried the iPhone, I would totally switch.
• If Verizon FIOS were available in my neighborhood, I'd totally switch.
• There's nothing funnier than an online profile that says "VGL." (Umm, hello? Eye of the beholder. Let me be the judge of that.)
• If a movie has Tom Cruise in it, it has to work extra hard for me to like it. So far the only one that has succeeded is Minority Report.
• Any movie that has Sylvester Stallone in it, I automatically don't want to see.
• Trippy. Move your mouse around. (Requires Flash.)
• I love Digg, but submitting a new story is too cumbersome. So I've switched to Del.icio.us.
• Based-on Netflix ratings, my movie tastes are most similar to kingfuraday, at 85%. Least similar: pinner123, at 58%.
• Chewing gum is gross.
• I have an unusually large interest in Grace Slick.
• After a buggy week of the TweetDeck app for iPhone, I've gone back to Twitterrific.
• I've always loved Dolly Parton's cover of Collective Soul's "Shine."

• I don't like the new Staind single. Cheese-fest.
• The game "Rockband" is the karaoke of the 2000's.
• I'm an ombudsman.
• See Eeyore as Captain EO! (YouTube, 1:15, work-safe.)
• Just re-discovered an old favorite song by Public Image Ltd.: Covered. (Rhapsody or iTunes.) ("I give, I give!") And such great lyrics, too. Listen to it loud!
• I have a little cold.
• My iPhone 3G got flaky yesterday. When I tried to sync, it kept saying the disk could not be read, or written to. Tried powering-off/on several times to no avail. Had to reset via iTunes. It seemed to be working fine, but now some of my contacts are coming-up as "Unknown." Harrrumph. Intermittently over the last few months, the phone would mysteriously be no longer activated. (It would re-activate a few minutes later.) Still, compared to my previous cell phones, the iPhone has been amazingly stable and reliable overall.
• A disquieting video: Satan in claymation, something to do with Mark Twain. (YouTube, 5:00, work-safe.)
• Beautiful art: The Cerebral Prostitute. (Image, work-safe.)
• I ran across this quote. I don't know where it came from, but it sums-up my beliefs succinctly: "Everything does not happen for a reason. There is no karma. Dreams don't always mean something. Good and bad shit happens to everyone. It's not exactly random, but it sure-as-hell ain't programmed or managed."
• Sometimes bears throw more attitude than so-called twinks.
• A favorite Aimee Mann lyric: "You don't know, so don't say you do."
• Meet the world's longest URL.

• Yahoo has made changes to their Profiles feature. It's mostly lame, and kinda sad.
• I've switched all my accounts over to Gmail.
• Facebook has me hooked at the moment.
• Did you blink? If so, you might've missed the torrid little affair between me, a circle of my Twitter friends and iminlikewithyou.com. It was fun for like, 36 hours! (Does anyone go on there anymore?)
• I'm digging the new canvas view on iGoogle.
• I'm digging my Mophie JuicePack. It doubles the battery life on my iPhone... and works great.
• I gave-up on Heroes. In fact, I may have given-up on television entirely, except for a few select shows (The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.)
• I loved the premise of Penn & Teller's Bullshit, but I've watched three episodes and wasn't all that impressed.
• Had a real nice Thanksgiving with my family up in Visalia.
• I dunno who said it, but I'm digging the quote "Anyone who cares, doubts."
• If you're writing (or adding-to) a Wikipedia article, be sure to avoid weasel words!

• A 1999 article from the New York Times about Fanny Mae easing requirements for lending. (Eerily spot-on.)
• A more recent Newsweek article describing how we got into this financial mess.
• Six Flags Magic Mountain is building a brand-new wooden coaster: Terminator.
• Six Flags New England is giving the legendary Superman: Ride of Steel coaster a special-effects mega-makeover.
• Can't wait to see Religulous! Oh man I love Bill Maher.
• You still can't send MMS pictures with iPhone, but in the meantime, Quip has been a satisfactory substitute. (Link launches iTunes.)
• Neat: Where do satellites go to die?

• Palin Brushing Up On Foreign Policy At EPCOT
• Members Of Twisted Sister Now Willing To Take It

• One of my extra hard drives crashed. It started making clicking sounds. I was able to recover like 90% of the data, but it looks like a couple videos are lost. The funny thing is, this was my backup drive. But what good is a backup drive if you don't have the original on your main drive (or somewhere else?!) Feh. I guess I should be doing an extra backup and storing it somewhere else safe.
• Hopefully you'll see some more Thursday tips soon. Just been crazy busy.
• Went to the beach this weekend and got sunburnt. It hurts to move, ouch!
• A large portion of my wardrobe is now officially too big for me. I think most people would be excited about the prospect of getting a new wardrobe. But I hate clothes shopping and don't have piles of cash to spend. On the bright side, I kept some of my old jeans (size 38 and 40) and shirts (XXL) that finally fit again!
• Lately I find myself listening a lot to these artists (not even new material, necessarily, just been listening to 'em just cuz) Flight of the Conchords, Elbow, Hooverphonic, Depeche Mode, The Ting Tings, Queens of the Stone Age, Kenna, The Presets, Recoil, Stevie Wonder, Beck, Burial, Junkie XL, Tears for Fears. I don't know why those bands specifically. That's just what's been spinning.
  
• The new Metallica single sucks.
• Going to Vegas with my Dad in October. Woo-hoo!
• If you're into image editing, check-out this nifty video about seam carving.
• I accidentally missed my assigned day of jury duty last week. They are pretty flexible though, and rescheduled me for another date in about a month.
• OMG I can't believe I didn't post a link to this video a few months back: Sophisticated Boom Boom by intoutdoors and xxtapemakerxx. (I make a goofy cameo appearance!)

• Please welcome cyclingmikeinsd to LiveJournal. You owe it to yourself to check-out his most recent few posts. The guy has been nearly-killed like 50 times. He walked out of an exploding building, he encountered a mountain lion, got stabbed at 14 while playing chess. Check it out.
• Does anyone have any personal experience with a good car transport service? My friend Nick needs to have his car shipped from Connecticut to California. He's checked-out various companies online, but was just wondering if anyone had any personal recommendations.
• Speaking of which, Nick has accepted a job in San Diego! OMG yay! He'll be moving here (finally!) September 20th and joining-up with his partner Rob, aka crimsonsaint, aka my arch-nemesis(sy)!
• I'm on Twitter, Loopt, Digg, Socializr, Yelp, YouTube and Facebook, among other sites, should you want to friend me or something.
• A welcome to Leo, aka mustadio, who has just moved to San Diego! I met Leo a few years ago and he's a sweet guy.
• It's been three months since my lap-band surgery. If you include the 2 week pre-op diet, I've lost over 70lbs so far. Woot! I'm sleeping a little better. I'm not sleeping great really, but it's a lot better than it was. I anticipate things will continue to improve over the coming months.
  
• So much has been going on lately. Been doing a lot of stuff with friends, and spending a lot of time outside. Saw a musical called Yank!, as well as the touring company of Spring Awakening, which were both great.
  
• I'm going to see Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails in the next few weeks. Yay!
• I turn 35 in December. Not that it's a big deal.
• Anyone else notice that BearCiti surpassed 20,000 members a few months back?
• My sister Amber and her husband De Shion are coming to visit me for Labor Day Weekend. Cool!
• I bit into a granola bar yesterday and crrrrrrack... broke a crown. (And it's an upper-front tooth, too.) Luckily it doesn't hurt, but it looks awful. Should get it fixed by Tuesday.
• Pineapple Express was way fun. Nothing epic or genius. Just silly fun.
• Excited for the release of What We Do is Secret, an indie-film about punk band The Germs and its iconic leader Darby Crash. It plays in San Diego starting September 5th, if anyone's interested.

• Google Translate is now available on the iPhone. Just visit Google.com and click on the "More" link.
  
• Geeks may be overrated in Hollywood. (Great timing... after ComicCon.)
  
• Is something really bothering you about the iPhone? Tell Apple.
• Can transsexuals change their mind?
• Lomography.com sponsors a new Flickr group/competition: no digital shots allowed. "Film is not dead!" (What can I say, I'm a Lomo fan. I actually used to own one, but I don't have it any more.)
• Quiz: Can you recognize these films after only seeing one font letter? (Via Andrew Sullivan.)
  
• Houdini, with Score by Elfman and Yazbek, is aiming for a Broadway Arrival in Spring 2010.
• Make your own LOLCAT-like picture online, easily, with the ROFLBOT.
• Is that Mariah riding Tatsu at Magic Mountain? Why yes, it is!
• Enter your zip code to see your census data compared to other parts of the United States with Zipskinny.
• I-35 can stop homosexuality. (So says Pat Robertson and 700 Club. YouTube, 5-minutes, work-safe.)

• Controversial Court Ruling Upholds Homosexual's Right To Prance Around Demanding Attention And Being A Drama Queen
• National Essay Writing Contest Now Accepting Video Submissions
• Paris Hilton Foundation Grants 2 Million Dollars To Under-Privileged Socialite

• An interesting Newsweek article by David Ansen about the demise of great film endings.
• An interesting LA Times article about the demise of surprises on TV shows.
• Fliptrack is an awesome free Flash-based slideshow creator. Feed it a URL or photos, choose your music, add themes, instantly get a slideshow timed to the music.
  
• Neat! 3D drawings of Matterhorn track. (Scroll down a bit.)
• Stunning HDR shots from DisneyWorld on Flickr.
  
• Remember the old theme song for the Heathcliff cartoon in the 80's? I think it's ripe for a kick-ass cover. It was a great 80's-era song.
  
• You may have already seen Blu's Muto video on e_ticket 's blog. If you haven't, you simply must see it. Amazing stop-motion graffiti animation. (7 minutes).
  
• Need an innovative and practical surge protector/power strip? Try the PowerPod. Neat!
• New Teen Girl Squad episode, yay!
• Yes, Virginia, there really is a website called TVTraySource.com. They sell, umm, TV trays.
• Check-out pics from the new Simpsons Ride and Toy Story Mania ride from Universal and Disney.
• Keith Olbermann rules my world. His most recent special comment about George W. Bush giving-up golf is simply awesome. (Video, 12 minutes, work-safe. It's a bit longish, but it's amazing. The transcript is here if you'd rather read it.)
• Someone is using a BDSM-style ball-gag to help eliminate mouth leaks from their nasal CPAP.
• Will the next Johnny Depp movie be about spooky attacking bears?
• Pirates director to turn the amazing game BioShock into a film!
• Retro design, pretty!
• People are trying to build a real Iron Man suit. (At least one that helps you lift very heavy things.)
• Yup, there really will be contact lenses that display a computer screen in your own eye.
• Welcome, finfinfin to San Diego!
• Send animated MMS messages, if you're on Verizon.
• Pilotless drones are becoming more and more common. Look out, big brother. And say goodbye to your privacy.
• Rumor: San Diego Street Scene may return to downtown San Diego.
• San Diego's Balboa Park has been named Sunset Magazine's #1 city park in the U.S.
• Mozilla Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 is out.
• Tooth loss, dementia may be linked.
• Can lobsters feel pain? The debate continues.
• How to harvest energy from the sea.
• I totally want a green burial. I'm serious.
  
• XBox is getting Blu-Ray!. OH WAIT. NO IT ISN'T.
• That Lil' Bush show on Comedy Central is hysterical and witty. Planned guest stars include Dave Grohl and Frank Black!
• The admin at BearCiti says they've finally received new servers. We should see performance improvement SOON.
• Fly nonstop from San Diego to London's Gatwick on Zoom.
• Has anyone else ever run-up against the 500-limit on Netflix?
• Great recent headlines from The Onion:

Christian Slater Dropped From List Of Names To Drop
India's Top Physicists Develop Plan To Get The Hell Out Of India
DOT Creates New Lane For Reckless Drivers
Grandfathers Accidentally Switched At Hospital
FCC Okays Nudity On TV If It’s Alyson Hannigan

• RL Stine Reveals that "Slappy" from Night Of The Living Dummy was Gay
• Hillary Clinton Tries To Woo Voters By Rescinding Candidacy
• John Edwards Vows To End All Bad Things By 2011
• Underfunded Schools Forced To Cut Past Tense From Language Programs

Me: What time do you want to stop by?
Rob(let): Close to work time.
Me: Well that was helpful.

• As you may already have noticed, LJ now allows you to edit your comments, when replying to other posts.  Wahoo!
• Headline from The Onion: Fall Canceled After 3 Billion Seasons.
• See my likeness in a faux ad for honey :-)
• I despised Celine Dion long before she did that dreadful cover of an otherwise likeable I Drove All Night, (originally done by Roy Orbison, and later covered by Cyndi Lauper).  Now, she has the balls to cover Heart's Alone.  Go to hell, Celine Dion, and keep your mits off other people's music.
• The annoyingness of car alarms outgrew their usefulness in the 90's.
• It was widely believed, in ancient times, that gemstones were drops of divine semen which had coagulated after having fertilized the earth. There is an ancient Chinese belief that jade, in particular, was the dried semen of the celestial dragon.  (From Wikipedia.)
• Singapore has legalized oral and anal sex between heterosexual couples but retained a law which criminalises intercourse between gay men.

• Virgin America is now serving San Diego!
• My Thursday tips are coming back soon.
• I'm suspicious that not all my TXT's are going through.  But I have no proof.  (I'm on Verizon.)
• The B-52's will release "Funplex," their first album of new material in 16 years, in February 2008!
• Headline from The Onion: Christian Charity Raising Money To Feed Non-Gay Famine Victims.
• Great quote: "How dare you commit journalism?" --Seymour Hersh
• Halloween costume idea: Nicky Holiday, Capricious Carla, Delicious Darla and Malicious Marla.
• Arrowhead Water now offers an "eco-shape" bottle?  (Umm, are you serious?)  (Upon further reading I learned that it uses less and lighter plastic)
  
• Seen online: "The military is at war. America is at the mall."
• Yahoo's Mike Folgner confirms: "Yahoo’s Flickr photo-sharing site will also be adding video," he said.
• Jackson Grimes, a Maryland pagan, is running for president. “With the help of the gods of Olympus, we will win,” he says.
• Instant online access to recent earthquake data.

• Went to see Aimee's Castle with cpratt, danlmarmot and bearringsd.  Had a lovely time, and enjoyed just spending time with the guys.  Flickr photo set is here.
• Hung-out with the always awesome and handsome gibbo67 on Tuesday night. He was just in town for one night, and we were supposed to go see the bands Earlimart and Office at the Casbah, but alas the show was canceled due to fires. D'oh! But we still had a very nice visit and he was able to finally meet the studly maverick1303.
• When I can't sleep, I do odd things, and one night I went through some old photos that Picasa had just indexed.  The result was a new Flickr set of old photos of myself.  (The next sets will be old pics with family members, friends.)

• Serj Tankian (System of a Down) was on the VMA's... he is really looking like Frank Zappa these days.
  
• Paul Rubens (Pee Wee Herman) says he lies to interviewers, according to Starpulse.
• On the MTV Video Music Awards: "The Britney debacle was the tip of the iceberg for a show that has been eaten alive by the reality-driven ADD culture that it created," according to Blogcritics.org.
• Speaking of ADD.  A new study examines the perils of food additives, increasing hyperactivity and decreasing attention.
• New Vudu set-top box gives you instant access to 5,000 movies (which is higher than the average video store), DVD-quality, and no monthly fees.
• Firefox hits 400 million downloads.
• "Wikipedia is now as much a part of online discourse as the weather is for sailors. We can complain about it, but there's not much we can do about it. For my part, I've always loved it. Surfing Wiki is one of life's true intellectual pleasures," says Andrew Sullivan.  (I concur!!)
• Palm kills the Foleo, dead.
• Viacom asked YouTube to remove the "Super Woofy Birthday Bash" video I uploaded, apparently because it contained clips of the show "My Super Sweet 16."  I guess they're technically right?
• "The beauty of blogs: they give every genius a voice. The beast: they give every idiot a voice. To be fair, most of us are neither pure geniuses nor idiots but seem to alternate between the two. I get stuck in idiot mode at least 60% of the time and don’t realize it 99% of the time," says author Tim Ferriss.
• Great headline from The Onion: "Self-Help Lecture Attendees Surprised To Hear Speaker Was Once Just Like Them."

• Cheney has heart removed oops I mean Cheney's heart device replaced
• I'm on Twitter now
• Planet Unicorn (YouTube, 5 minutes) has been around for awhile, so if you haven't seen it, check it out. Pretty funny!  (Episode 4 is more recent and features Shannon appearing in the form of Tyra Banks...)
• Headline from The Onion: Final Harry Potter Book Blasted For Containing Spoilers
• Henry Rollins has a message for gay people (awesome!)
• Funny commercial featuring bears having sex (YouTube, 30 sec)

• This is somewhat old news, but the Disney parks are now allowing same-sex ceremonies.  (They had allowed certain unofficial events but now they have full access to all wedding facilities and services.)
• The Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD war takes a turn as Blockbuster decides to standardize on Blu-Ray.
• At the risk of sounding like I'm obsessing over the film Sicko, I must say that I found this old episode ( 12 min) of Michael Moore's "The Awful Truth" to be very well done.
• In other old news, Anne Heche's mother Nancy Heche speaks-out... in an interview with the 700 Club, she says Anne's lesbian affair "was like a betrayal of an unspoken vow: We will never have anything to do with homosexuals."
• If you haven't been watching "Lil Bush" on Comedy Central, you are missing-out on some damn funny political satire.
• New Spoon album this month!  Yay!
• In other old news, Madonna's I'm Going to Tell You a Secret concert album (recorded during the tour that supported American Life) is totally lame.
• Fox begins the search for a new Elvira.  I kinda like Elvira, and that's why I believe rwe don't need another one.

• With more emerging entrepreneurs, will there be an uptick in the number of Republicans?
• Sean Connery says no to next "Indiana Jones" film
• Philadelphia OKs ending Scout lease over gays
• Dr. Kevorkian released from prison
• LiveJournal apologizes for mass deletion
• Microsoft releases Windows Media Player plug-in for Firefox, finally! (Alternately, you may be able to get this update by downloading the latest version of Firefox.)
• If you haven't seen the new Google Maps Street View feature, it's pretty slick. (Drag the street around with your mouse!)
• BearCiti has hit 10,000 members! Congrats!
• Blogging from Flickr to LiveJournal seems to be working again.