8 posts tagged “just silly”
I am a big fan of doing more with less (material and work). The best hacks, a.k.a. DIY projects, are the simplest. My Blackberry is no iPhone but it is handy on the road and also makes a nice companion in the office for quickly looking at new e-mails. It has big flaw: its USB socket is on the side. The cord couldn't be in a worse position for desk use of a Blackberry. While charging, the Blackberry naturally contorts away from a good reading position. When disconnected, the cord would often fall behind my desk. A prone Blackberry is not ergonomically easy to look at either. Desk mounts are not really that expensive, but I am loathe to spend money just the same.
My solution: tacking the USB cable and Blackberry to my bulletin board. The tacks and board are effectively free from my employer. Set-up was easy and the whole arrangement is further customizable. The cord no longer falls behind my desk. The Blackberry is in a nice upright position to display incoming e-mails, calls, and reminders. Huzaa to thumbtacks!
Total cost: $0
Time spent: 5 minutes
I was all set to post about how movies often come in pairs. That is, when a movie about a certain subject comes out, a movie that is very, very similar comes out soon after. Well, those professional bloggers beat me to it, further proving that there are no new ideas.
The list laden website Den of Geek compiled a list of its top 10 movie clones. 1998 was an especially good bad year for clones, with two movies about earth destroying asteroids and two computer animated movies about ants. Notably, both movies about mars in 2000 were laughably terrible. I for instances. Chuckled when a biochemist in "Red Planet" listed the four genetic base pairs as "A, G, T, and P". Generally, if two movies are about the same topic, neither can be all that good.
Den of Geek's list does not include all of the clone movies. I've noticed this trend since two Robin Hood movies came to theatres in 1991 and a year later when two Christopher Columbus movies that came out on the 500th anniversary of his most famous discover. Rounding out the biopics, runner Prefontaine also hit the movie clone jackpot in 1997 and then 1998. Now copies are routine, like the two movies about animals in a New York zoo escaping to the wilds of Africa in 2005 and 2006.
It just goes to show that creativity can't be learned but it sure can be borrowed.
But a virtual self need not look like me. Perhaps I've always dreamed of looking different, sporting wild red hair, face paint, bigger arms, and anime style nub of a nose. Nah. Turns out I've always wanted to wear an orange Hawaiian shirt.
Could the future of on-line activity bring photo-realistic avatars like CNN's controversial holograms? Let's hope not. The detail in the picture to the left is about as much as I want to show. And what if I did want my avatar to be a 7" tall elf with green skin? If avatars showed the real me then I would have to cosplay everytime I fire up Halo 3.
The point is that avatars provide a friendler interface than static user pictures. They can move, look around, and dance. They can even play games for you.
Huzaa to avatars!
Something the forensic expert in all of us. My lovely wife was setting little man's food on his tray when little man kicked the tray and sent food flying an obscene distance. Check out the spread of peas. Note that some survived in the bowl. The yogurt was the real surprise. It flew a good twelve feet, into the living room along a visible trail. My wife, Grandma, and I cleaned up and took these pictures as evidence. Back-up food was provided.
My wife snagged this sweet shot of a hawk on our front deck. It flies around our neighborhood excoriating mice and prompting good folks to grab their cameras. Pretty sweet, huh?
I don't know if those crates are full of weapons, armor, or health. Too bad little guy didn't have a crow bar to smash them open.
Huzaa to a life of adventure.
