I run this joint. Don’t know where to start? Let me show you around:
Photo: Edmund Hillary
Take it away, fellas:
“Why make a fuss over something that’s done anyway? I was never one to obsess about the past. Too much to do in the future!”—Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mount Everest
“It has been a long road … From a mountain slave, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax.”—Tenzing Norgay, the Buzz Aldrin of Mount Everest (aka the second man to step foot on the summit, immediately following Hillary)
These words are loaded with so much more meaning given what each man accomplished.
Put differently, talk is cheap. Experience is everything.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVqe8ieqz10&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
The video could use a little editing, but it does an effective job in selling Google’s version of cloud computing. So much, in fact, I predict these “computer-like objects” will be a lot more relevant than tablets, but only if they come down in price. The reported $350-500 launch models, available June 15, are too much.
See also: My Chromebook is a fast tablet with a faster keyboard
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJFqRcvq3rw[/youtube]
Samsung sponsored this guy Kenton Cool (awesome name) to summit Mount Everest for a ninth time this month. In exchange, the company had him place the first cell phone call ever from the highest point on Earth, to his wife. What a moment.
The baby woke at 8:00 am today. She downed her bottle in five minutes. Played for 30 minutes. Ate for 30 minutes. Then played for another 35 minutes before giving the univiersal “I’m tired” signal: She cried.
By 9:45, she was dozing off in her crib. She doesn’t always take a morning nap this early; sometimes she’ll go until 10 or maybe 10:30. But like clockwork, our other two did this as well.
Noting that, imagine if adults could only go two hours in the morning before requiring a nap. Corporate America would get grouchy and fussy by 10:00 am!
This is neat and all, and the inventor created a great little game called Lost Winds that I enjoyed. But it seems useless without ethernet and/or wireless networking. Furthermore, if you can afford a monitor with HDMI-out, I’m guessing you can afford a computer. Am I wrong?
Among other things, I’ve been working as a media consultant for the state of Utah this year — specifically related to Utah Lake. To help promote the lake as a tax-funded and public resource, I helped officials launch and now maintain a new editorialized website at utahlake.gov (pictured).
Local media, however, isn’t a fan — at least not yet — and rightfully criticized the site’s birth warts. “Government officials have launched a website aimed at helping locals stay home to vacation on Utah Lake, but the launch hit rough waters,” wrote Caleb Warnock, reporting for the Daily Herald. “On Wednesday, repeated attempts to find recreation information were greeted with this message: ‘The page you were looking for could not be found.'”
Not only did the site launch with broken links, there were a few proofreading errors too, not to mention editing notes that were never meant to be made public.
Kind of embarrassing. Continue reading…
Ask any American what they think of the English Royal Family, and even the most liberal voter will tell you it’s a waste of taxpayer money (since the family is powerless). Whether or not that’s the case, the level of U.S. government waste far exceeds that of the Royal Family.
For example, the British Royal Family costs the UK taxpayer $64 million per year, excluding travel and security. That’s about a dollar per person. The travel budget for the U.S. president alone is several times that.
The Homeland Security Agency, which like the Royal Monarchy, is suppose to make citizens feel all warm and fuzzy inside, costs the U.S. taxpayer $55 billion a year! What do we get in return? Mandatory shoe removal at airports, 15,000 wasted jobs, a failed alert system, and more exciting deployments for the Armed Forces (you know, the people who should be managing homeland security in the first place, like they honorably and successfully did prior to HSA’s creation).
And that’s just one of hundreds of wasteful agencies.
So the next time you get all high and mighty on Team America for not wasting money on an opulent spokesfamily, ask yourself what U.S. department was watched by more than 2.5 billion people in a mostly favorable light this morning?
A $25,000 Office Pod.
In The Know: Should The Nation’s Unemployed Be Buying New Apple Computers?
Speaking personally, I’ve owned a Blu-ray player (PS3) since 2007, yet I only own maybe five Blu-ray discs. Yes the picture quality is nicer, but upscaled DVDs and streaming movies look nearly as good, and up until this year, they were a whole lot cheaper.
The May issue of Wired Magazine has a fascinated piece on injectable vasectomies that can be reversed with a follow-up shot. The procedure, dubbed by Wired as “the biggest advance in male birth control since the condom,” is flawless so far in clinical trials and dirt cheap to administer. Cool.
But I resent the article’s assertion that if successful, the procedure would “increase the chance” of humanity escaping poverty (p. 171). People aren’t poor because they have a lot of kids. They’re poor because they’re oppressed, complacent, or both. Offspring have nothing to do with personal wealth. (At least mine don’t, and I’m a freakin’ thousandaire!)
Of course, if you’re an absent parent and express your “love” in the form of material gifts, than yes—parenting children can be expensive. But otherwise, children have less impact than you think when it comes to a sinking or swimming family.
According to Walter Breuning, a resilient man who did:
What an inspired life. (Thanks, Tim)
My latest for Fox & Friends. Not a shocker, but I still found it amusing.
A recent quote my wife found:
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Not only is Dr. Seuss a fun read for kids, he’s wonderfully metaphoric when read by an adult.
I’ve been in awe of his work while re-reading it to my kids.
J Dawgs is delish! (check the user reviews)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etm54u7MA3A&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
But I suspect this is far to complicated to ever catch on. And how on earth are amateur, aspiring, or otherwise young players ever suppose to recreate that crazy field!?
Not gonna happen.
PS – Good luck trying to find four goalies. It’s hard enough to find two in soccer.
You don’t have to be a golf fan to appreciate how it went down in Georgia yesterday. My wife and I were affixed to the TV—and we never watch golf.
I received the following email auto-responder this week:
“In a mtg.”
“Really?” I thought to myself. “That’s your auto-responder: you’re in a meeting?! And you’re so important that you can’t even spell out meeting??!!”
Jeez. “Out of office” or “on vacation” notices are one thing. But life must be pretty bad for the ego that feels inclined to tell ALL correspondence that they’re “in a mtg.”
Incredible, actually.
Hallelujah, fatty! Your religious beliefs may give you greater peace of mind and self-worth. But it might also be blinding your ability to detect love-handles.
Says a new study by Northwestern University, “Young adults who frequently attend religious activities are 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age as young adults with no religious involvement.” A thirteen year-old study by Purdue said the same thing: “Religious people are more likely to be overweight than are nonreligious people.”
Not only that, but Mormons tend to be five pounds pudgier than other believers. The reason? Religious folk are more accepting of their bodies and tend to be more content with their lives. Therefore, they’re more likely to overlook gluttony, summarizes the Mormon Times. As for Mormons being more obese than other devotees, Mormons are asked to abstain from even more stuff than most. With food being one of the exceptions, they engorde on it, said a BYU professor in 2006.
Ironically, the Northwestern study also supported the long-held belief that religious folks tend to live longer, largely because they don’t indulge as often in alcohol, drugs, and smoking. Go figure.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvTNyKIGXiI[/youtube]
It’s not a lie if you believe it.
(Thanks, Wesley)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu927_ul_X0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Long live the mouse and keyboard… at least until a better replacement comes along (which it hasn’t).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9SPuUntnno[/youtube]
Bonus points to Russ for saying “scuzzed out.” And I love how tiny his head looks when he walks onto the street in new looks.
See those three stripes? They’re called “diva,” not pink, according to Adidas. And the white you see is “running white,” as opposed to idle white. I know because that’s what the box on my kitchen counter says. (They’re not for me, mind you, but the little soccer player I father.)
Adidas isn’t the first shoe manufacturer to use confusing names. I’ve seen red called “fire” on Nikes and blue called “ice” on Reeboks.
The silliness makes me wonder: Could shoe manufacturers sell more shoes by using color names people understand? Granted, people don’t shop by shoe boxes; they shop by display. But I imagine some prospective buyers have crossed an unsuspecting color and decided to pass on it. I know for a fact that ambiguity always hurts your chances.
That said, is there any proof that unconventional (or idiotic) color naming boosts sales? I doubt it.
Either way, at least Adidas got the hueless color right when describing the above shoes. They call it “black.”
They have cash—lots of it.
I’m a big fan of cash. Love the cash.
I’m amazed by the phrase “agree to disagree.”
It’s a lazy expression. It’s contradictory. Yet it works. But only because it’s a cliche.
If it weren’t a common expression, the receiver would dismiss it as being stupid and probably stay on the offensive. (See Mister English Teacher: Who said cliches don’t have a place in language. Writing never, but speech, yes.)
In my own life, I’ve agreed to disagree (or agreed to differ) on numerous occasions. It’s funny how it always seems to work in terminating thought. It’s like the white flag of verbal disagreement. “Oh, I give up.”
More impressive, however, is that “agreeing to disagree” instantly facilitates civility and tolerance. Who would of thought that a dumb cliche could be capable of such a thing?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAUP1wsmqUU[/youtube]
Classic. Song here
For when a rascal just doesn’t cut it. (Thanks, Morgan)
My mother’s chain letters fail to amuse more often than not. The below is the rare exception.
I’m not entirely convinced they’re all paraprosdokians, as labeled. Either way, a handful of them made me laugh at loud (i.e. #9).
Either that or I’m getting old. Continue reading…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjvkw5CE4mU[/youtube]
As seen on CBS prior to BYU beating Gonzaga en route to the sweet sixteen. Go, Cougars! (Note: This is my favorite pre-game intro.)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JINC4wLP_fE[/youtube]
World’s greatest shallow-water diver?
Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Rocky Dawuni in that order. How about you?
Reminds me of when I was a kid. Click for more. Continue reading…
Music has always been a big part of my life. I’m good on my feet and have better rhythm than most other white men. Happily, my first-born (and subsequent children) share my affinity for song and dance.
I first noticed Sadie’s liking to music when she began shaking her hips as six-month old — while I played “Africa Unite” by Bob Marley on a sunny afternoon. Amazingly, for what was then a first time parent, she was moving to the beat. How could this be? How does a human only 180 days old recognize, understand, and know how to dance to the beat?
It must be genetic.
To this day, Sadie spends a large portion of her time banging on piano keys, moving to the beat, strumming my guitar as she passes by, dancing to Kids Songs DVDs, and requesting playback of her hokey poky CD. She enjoys music more than most, as do I.
Did I pass it on to her? I don’t know, but I’m convinced there’s some inheritance involved. How couldn’t there be?
While I appreciate other forms of entertainment — like film, video games, and books — music would be the last thing to go in my book. It’s more than just entertainment, it sets the pace of life. And as corny as its sounds, song and dance makes everything better.
Originally published January 23, 2008
Source: Nielsen
Insightful article by Wired on bucking offshoring manufacturing in favor of higher yield American manufacturing:
Today, a year since Krywko’s decision to go against the offshoring tide, Sleek Audio has a full-scale manufacturing operation that can be reached via a 15-minute car ride rather than a 24-hour flight. Each earphone costs roughly 50 percent more to produce in Florida than in China. But Krywko is more than happy to pay the premium to know that botched orders and shipping delays won’t ruin his company. And so far, the gambit appears to be paying off: Based on enthusiastic customer response, Sleek Audio is now projecting 2011 to be its most profitable year ever.
Globalization has been great. But thanks to latency, localization is thriving once more. It’s like the best of both worlds now.
More than a century ago, steel replaced iron as the world’s most popular metal (or “alloy” for you technophiles). The reason: Steel is incredibly strong, useful—and thanks to innovators such as Henry Bessemer and Andrew Carnegie—it’s cheaply made.
Better living through metallurgy. But generations after steel’s commoditization, might there be a superior replacement material? Continue reading…
I wish I could have seen my Dad play basketball.
My uncle tells me he was a phenomenal shooter, regularly putting up 30+ points a night against amateur competition. My old man reputedly scored 50 points in a single half of intramural college ball once (!).
More impressive from a precision standpoint, he shot 50 consecutive free throws at my neighbor’s house when I was a boy. He stopped before missing his first shot so he could get home “for supper,” he says. Talk about ending on a high note.
Marveling at other great shooters this year, including Jimmer Fredette, whom I’ve watched at close range, I asked my Dad what it takes to be a great percentage shooter. His reply:
“It is a combination of natural and great physical skill, thousands of hours of practice and playing, and the ability after reaching a certain point of physical excellence to take your mind out of shooting and letting your body do it! That’s the groove that is spoken of. Not very many reach the ‘groove’ consistently. When it happens, it is like heaven on earth.”
High five, pops!
Here’s why, announced today:
Seriously, Amazon’s website and value-rich products are crazy good. +1 for streaming Mister Rogers.
I often read the following: “the tragic death of so-and-so.” I don’t mean to be insensitive, but when is death not tragic? Loss of life is always tragic, right, so why dilute the adjective? Agree, disagree? Should writers call death “tragic” or just call it “death”?
As seen in this month’s issue of Wired.
My thoughts: Agreed that information technology isn’t always replaced by newer technology (i.e. pens, pencils, paperbacks). But to suggest that printed magazines are actually thriving is a bit of stretch. My guess is the quoted “11 percent growth” stems from that fuzzy “pass along” metric magazines still use to measure audience size. (And to suggest that magazines are the superior way of reading essays is also wrong.)
Either way, stop hard-selling yourself, magazines. We know what you’re good for: Bathrooms, waiting lobbies, and other offline environments.
Says The Hot Word, my new favorite blog:
Many people believe Moon Unit Zappa and her 1982 single Valley Girl are responsible for popularizing this usage of “like” precisely at the moment Ms. Zappa sang, “It’s like, barf me out.” In reality, the slang use of the word “like” has been a part of popular culture dating as far back as 1928 and a cartoon in the “New Yorker” that depicts two woman discussing a man’s workspace with a text that reads, “What’s he got – an awfice?” “No, he’s got like a loft.” The word pops up again in 1962’s A Clockwork Orange as the narrator proclaims, “I, like, didn’t say anything.”
Not only that, but the slang interjection was even found in a novel circa 1886. Tubular!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4k9oEEXfyI&feature=player_embedded#at=148[/youtube]
I love entrepreneurial ingenuity.
Couch surfing: What trust.
I’m a volunteer youth leader, which means I chaperon on Tuesday nights and teach Sunday School once a month.
Two weeks ago, a couple of leaders and I took the lads to the rec center to play racquetball. Afterwards, one of the freshman boys riding in my car rolled down the shotgun window to cat call a girl he knew.
“You realize you’re riding in a station wagon,” I told him. “Yeah, that might not be a good idea,” his passenger friend added.
The window was quickly rolled up.
Case in point. More stunning ones here.
You’re blind if you don’t see the Egyptian revolution (and its peaceful and unified protests) as a beacon to the world.
“During the fiercest clashes on January 28, I found a guy about my age guarding my back, who I later found out was a Christian,” Yahia Roumi, a 24- year-old protester from Cairo, told IPS. “Now we’re best friends; we never go to the demonstrations without one another.”
