Luke Gilman points to Toogle, an image search function that “creates images out of the very term that was used to fetch those images.” For example, I searched for AC/DC, and it returned an exquisite, and entirely text-based logo. Sweet.
I got my $100 rebate Visa card back from AT&T, and I knew I wanted to get this incredibly cheap flash video camera I had read such good things about. I had initially wanted to buy Pure Digital’s Flip Phone Ultra after reading some ridiculously good reviews like this one and this one. Then I found out RCA had licensed the technology from Pure Digital and released their own version of the camera called the Small Wonder.
Although the small wonder has less memory than the new Flip Ultra, I ended up buying the Small Wonder for a few compelling reasons:
Here’s the first movie I made when I got home.
It’s really the first time I’ve ever been so close to a video camera, so I’m pretty sure I look and sound ridiculous. Still, this thing is a $100 video camera. Although the video is .avi (not MPEG-2) and the video quality could be better, it’s freakin’ $100! Plus, both the Flip and the Small Wonder are reportedly great in low light, where many more expensive cameras tend to fail. It’s also a lot smaller than most video cameras. The damn thing can fit easily in your pocket. Finally, notice that you can hear my voice loud and clear. That’s not the case with my Canon digital ELPH. Seems like this thing will be perfect for capturing the odd rock band around town.
I’ll try to update you as my feelings for this new machine evolve. In the meantime, here’s a nice comparison of the Flip Ultra and Small Wonder. And here’s another video talking about how awesome the Small Wonder is.
Yeah, so I suppose if you put a gun to my head I’d have to say I think the Utah Jazz are a better team than the Rockets. They’ve got an explosive superstar in Carlos Boozer and the league’s second-best point guard in Deron Williams. They’re also have a deeper and more talented bunch of role players. The pundits at ESPN know this, and they’re certain our Rocks are going down. As you can see, not a single one of them picks the Rockets to take the series.
Well, the available data might support their picks, but it supports another theory as well. The Jazz, along with Dallas and Denver, were one of the worst road teams in the stacked Western Conference bracket, going 17 - 24. And the Jazz, despite being the higher seed, have to play four of their seven games in Houston. Does a team with home court advantage and a 22-game winning streak have a chance against the frickin’ four seed? I’d say they do. For statistical evidence, look no further than the spot adjacent to ESPN’s den of iniquity.
Hmmm, I like those odds.
Rockets in 7.
Hey, I’m back on mrshl.net to register this month’s Emusic downloads. As the image would suggest, April finds me finally getting into Fugazi. Naturally, I’m entering through one of their late-career records.
As far as I know, I was one of the first participants in the Red Octane / Activision disc replacement program for the Wii version of Guitar Hero III. It seems the original game disc was mixed and mastered in mono rather than stereo. When they announced the replacement program and agreed to switch out the stereo for the mono discs, I signed up on the Web site immediately. They said the switch could take up to 2 months, but I got my replacement disc in about three weeks. Overall I was impressed.
But a couple of days I ago, I got something in the mail that impressed me even more. Red Octane / Activision sent us a free faceplate for our guitar and thanked us for putting up with the hassle. A nice touch.
What you need is a deranged go-go dancer who is feverishly applying lipstick to the plastic wrap that is covering her mouth.
We are the state of fiscal responsibility and low taxes and job growth, right? We don’t want high taxes and wasteful spending (e.g., children’s health insurance) to drag down our statewide economy. Nope. But when it’s time to put our hand out and soak up those federal Tax dollars, we are second in line to get our remarkably unfair share.
Texas corralled $2.2 billion in special projects from the federal government this year, including $294,000 for a Houston zoo program and $22 million for an Army gymnasium near El Paso.
While presidential contenders and some Congress members debated whether the projects, called earmarks, bloat the budget, the Lone Star State was awarded 539 of them for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Only California was given more goodies, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis.
The Chronicle article does a good job analyzing the earmarks (and which of our reps supported each one). But there’s one thing that isn’t mentioned.
You might be wondering, "How much money are we paying into the federal government to get such rich rewards?" Turns out, we get almost $1 back for every dollar we send to Washington. We rank 35th out of 50 states in this regard. Who’s number 1? Check out the list for 2005.
Ancient IBM ad showing the mythical slide rule my dad always talked about. Via Incredimazing.
Like me, Owen Jarvis is a musician who went to law school. Unlike me, he’s made a fantastic (and fantastically viral) video documenting the experience.
Jarvis wrote this song during exams for his first year of law school. The lyrics are pretty typical bitching and moaning, but with the sketches (also by Jarvis) and some clever turns, he’s perfectly distilled the cliché angst of your average 1L.
I have to say that I enjoyed law school immensely, and I think the work load is usually overstated (e.g., I had to walk 9 miles in the snow, and write 100 footnotes in a dark, frozen room). But this video had me laughing.
Hat tip: my fellow UH-er, 3L Luke Gilman.
I’m a lawyer and health care compliance analyst. I’m also an incredibly lazy rock musician. But I don’t write much about these things. Instead, this is mostly a place for me to engage in an occasional bit of Web dorkery / punditry.
I don't post here all that often. I encourage you to check out my more active link blog life is a thrill. It's basically a random stream of awesome, and it's perfectly calibrated for your workaday, ADD lifestyle.
