Daniel Sundin

Abandon Ship!

2009-01-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am officially abandoning this blog since I spend most of my online time elsewhere. On the off chance you still have this blog on your Feed Reader feel free to remove it. You can find me at the following online destinations.

Facebook - Search for Daniel Sundin
Twitter - twitter.com/odjur
Baby Blog - http://www.babymeatball.com
Photography Blog - http://www.sundinphotography.com/blog

Only Suckers get Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese

2008-09-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

This blog entry has been sitting in my drafts folder for over a year so I figure I would throw it out their as a "b-side" if you will. I have been eating a lot less fast food lately so I haven't considered this for a while.

Many items on fast food menus have "little brothers" which contain essentially the same ingredients, but in smaller sizes. A great example is McDonald's Double-Quarter Pounder with Cheese (DQPwC) and its beefy doppelganger, the Double Cheeseburger (DC). They both consist of beef, cheese, and a bun. However the DQPwC is a hefty $4.19 compared to the lean $0.99 of the DC. So how do you measure the best deal... calories per dollar of course. The handy chart shows the cheapest way to feel extremely nauseous.

Restaurant	Type	Menu item	Price	Calories	Calories/Dollar
Burger King	Pro	Whopper Jr.	$1.29	370	287
Burger King	Sucker	Whopper	$2.99	670	224
McDonald's	Pro	Double Cheeseburger	$0.99	440	444
McDonald's	Sucker	Double Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese	$4.19	740	177
Taco Bell	Pro	Nachos Supreme	$1.49	440	295
Taco Bell	Sucker	Nachos Bellgrande	$2.99	770	258

Movie Reviews

2007-11-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. I love reading movie reviews. I read them before I see a movie, after I see a movie, and, in some cases, while seeing a movie. Netflix stocks some snoozer.

I read movie reviews to help me decide which movies to see.

I read movie reviews to validate my opinions about a movie after I have already seen it.

I read movie reviews to help me appreciate a movie more. Caveat: I also read IMDB for this purpose.

This last point is the one I want to discuss because it is the least obvious.

Movie critics help us decipher between "good" movies and "bad" movies. I understand that rating art is inherently tricky. However the art of movie making has much more structure, and therefore rateable criteria, than... say... painting. If most most critics give a movie a high rating, it is likely a good movie based on the standard set of rating rules which make a movie "good." This doens't mean that the average person won't enjoy the movie. I'm sure a lot of people came out smiling after seeing Kazaam.

This brings me to No Country for Old Men, which I saw Saturday. This movie is good. Really, really good. This is the kind of movie that your unborn child is going to be writing a paper about in their college film class in 20 years.

I am glad I read some reviews of this movie before I saw it. Since I knew I was about to see a good movie I prepared myself to closely watch each scene and look for metaphors, pay special attention to the lighting, and keep my mouth shut so I didn't miss any important lines. It is like getting a very expensive dinner at a posh restaurant. You know a lot of time and effort went into the dish so you eat it slowly and savor it.

After I saw the movie I re-read the movie reviews and liked the movie even more. Critics understand the craft of film-making more that I do and their insight adds to my appreciation.

Go see this movie. I understand I am getting your hopes up. Trust me. It helps.

Bachelor Life - In Excruciating Detail

2007-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ginette and Dayla left for the weekend to hang out with my Mom and sister. I realize I haven't had a weekend all to myself in a very long time. Since I am sure I will get bored very quickly I'm going to write everything I do today and bore everyone else unfortunate enough to read this.

8:16am - Woke up. Actually make the bed (sort of).
8:18am - Check emails on my Blackberry.
8:20am - Read the Internet for a while. Think about what I am going to do today.
8:47am - Take a shower. Decide not to shave for the second day in a row. Scrufftastic!
9:02am - Get dressed. Grab the first Threadless shirt on top of the pile. It looks cold today so I'm going with the skate shoes instead of the flip flops.
9:12am - Grab some iced coffee and toast and head out the door
9:20am - Arrive at Vons. Pick up a gallon of milk and some cash back on my purchase
9:45am - Check out the Farmer's Market in Scripps Ranch. I'm hoping to find some good looking, locally grown produce. I'm disappointed with the selection and walk away with nothing.
10:10am - Arrive at Ranch 99 Asian Market. Pick up some basic I can't get at Vons: curry paste, coconut milk, lime leaves, and sashimi grade fish.
10:35am - I'm already bored being by myself. Before leaving Ranch I call Kate and suggest a movie. She's in! We agree to make plans in the late afternoon.
10:50am - Get home, unpack my groceries, put on This American Life on iTunes, and start making sushi rice.
11:01am - The rice is soaking. Time to play some Metroid 3!
12:30pm - Sushi's done. Watching the movie "Lucky You"
1:15pm - Uuggghhhh. Tooo much sushi. I put the rest in the fridge for later. However I have to say that a salmon, cream cheese, and red pepper inside-out roll is might tasty.
2:45pm - Movie's over. Pretty good. An accurate poker procedural with a tacked on romance. I guess no studio would budget a poker procedural without a romance.
2:46pm - Time to play some online poker!
2:49pm - Hmmm. It looks like the law stuck. No real money for US players. Bahh. What's the point.
4:41pm - 441st place out of 840 players in the Omaha Hi-Lo tournament. I really don't know what I am doing when it comes to that game.
5:35pm - Kate's here. Time to make some curry and eat the rest of the sushi.
6:40pm - The curry (Masman this time) turned out better than usual if I do say so myself. Kate agrees. However she would probably say nice things even if it tasted terrible. We discuss The Omnivore's Dilemma for awhile which we are both in the middle of reading.
7:25pm - We arrive at the movie theater to see Eastern Promises. Seriously, seriously, how many commercials how can they show before the movie. Movie Theater Executive: "We are losing more customers to On Demand movies, Netflix, and Tivo. What can we do to increase our goodwill with the public? I got it, more commercials and higher prices. Brilliant!"
9:30pm - Very good movie. 4 out of 5. I would say I like A History of Violence better since it did have the same director and lead. I probably would have given this one a 4.5/5 if I didn't have to see so much of Viggo's wang in the shower knife fight scene.
9:40pm - Kate drops me off. I'm pretty tired. One Simpsons rerun than it's off to bed.
10:17pm - Good night.

Cop-out

2007-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything legitimate in a while. I understand that. I don't want to be that guy you consider removing from your feeds list because he never posts to his lame vanity blog.

That being said, here is a cop-out list that briefly summarizes everything I can think of that is awesome or lame that I have done in the past few months. Looking over the list now things have definitely been more awesome than lame, which is, in itself, awesome.

New baby - awesome

diapers - lame

My high school reunion not happening - lame

Bioshock (PC version of course) - awesome

Selling my Xbox on Ebay - awesome

Silversun Pickups - awesome

Switching cars with Ginette since babies like Volvos more than Integras - lame

Crosswords - awesome

Those nasty, freezer burned vegetable potstickers I shouldn't have eaten becuase they made me sick - lame

All you can eat sushi (twice!) - awesome

The Sopranos (seasons 1&2) - awesome

Harry Potter (books 1, 2, 3, and 1/4 of 4) - awesome

Reruns on my Tivo - lame

Upping Netflix to 5-at-a-time - awesome

Worst Possible Way to Spend $152.69

2007-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Full House - The Complete Series Collection

Why MySpace is like a Nokia 5190

2007-07-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have a MySpace Account and a (new) Facebook account. Before setting up Facebook I honestly had lost all hope in social networking. MySpace is such a wasteland of animated gifs, 2000-pixel wide images, and broken sound files. It is unfettered customization run amok. Facebook is the exact opposite. The basic functionality is the same but the interface is so much cleaner.

If you give me the option of "pimping" my MySpace account I will probably do it. However I don't have particularly good taste and I am not a professional CSS designer.

This leads me to why MySpace is like a Nokia 5190. You remember the 5190 right? It was that ubiquitous brick phone that also happens to be my first cell phone. It was one of the earliest phones to offer interchangeable faceplates. The "factory" faceplates were pretty tasteful in a few bright colors. However the market was soon flooded with cheaply made, retina burning designs available at every mall kiosk.

Have you noticed that most new cell phones no longer offer interchangeable faceplates? The closest you can get is one of the limited stock color options. This is a good thing. It's like new cars. They don't let you pick out your new Honda with a shoddily painted 49ers logo in hot pink slapped all over the place.

To make a long story longer, Facebook is rad. It lets you (wisely) customize your content and the location of widgets but it doesn't let you directly customize the primary layout and CSS.

In summary, go sign up for Facebook and look me up. I need more friends.

P.S. Simon... thanks for pushing me to sign up. You win. It is better than MySpace.

Guy Pictures

2007-07-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

All couples pose for pictures in a standard way. They lean in close, the guy puts his arm around the girl, and they both shine million dollar smiles at the camera while fake laughing so the smile doesn't look forced.

This is not how guys want to pose.

We do it because we love our wives/girlfriends/mothers and that is how they want us to pose. What guys really want to do is throw out two fists of metal to the camera. The juxtaposition of these two opposing poses has never been caught on film... until today.

Ginette's sister Danielle just brought us these two pictures taken at her wedding rehearsal dinner in Victoria, BC.

The Girl Way

The Guy Way

rock and roll

Nobody Likes Zingers

2007-07-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

I work at a large company with almost 1000 people spread across 3 buildings. However we don't have a cafeteria. At lunch time you get to choose between the local fast food restaurants, the sketchy lunch truck, or the vending machines.

With these limited options people take their vending very seriously. I was nuking my coffee this afternoon and saw this typed up plea taped to the front of the candy machine.

Dear Mr. Vending Machine Man,

Only 6 people in the entire Western Hemisphere actually enjoy the pink coconut Zingers. Sadly, none of these 6 people work here.

Sometimes we are willing to waste a dollar just to get them out of the way to get to a package of donuts or something worthwhile hidden behind them. But to have two rows of your limited vending space taken up by pink coconut Zingers is unacceptable.

Kindly remove them and replace with a snack or pastry that would be appealing to the other 3 billion people on this side of the world.

Most Sincerely,
Your Snack Buying Customers

San Diego Fair

2007-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

3 posts in one week? Sweet sassy molassy!

We went to the San Diego Fair yesterday like we do every year. Our primary reason for visiting was to see our friend Johnny G. and his Johnny Cash tribute band, Cash Kings. They put on a great show as always. We also got to see a few prints in the photography exhibit by our friend Dan.

I tried Fried Coke. It tasted exactly as bad as it sounds.

Click on the bunny to see a small set of pictures.

http://flickr.com/photos/sundins/tags/sandiegofair/

Late Night Gaming

2007-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ginette frequently has the opening shift which means she is up very early by herself and I am up late very by myself. Up until about 6 months ago this meant lots and lots of World of Warcraft. I forced myself to quit because it was just too much of a time sink.

I miss it.

My current replacement game (i.e. nicotine patch) is Titan Quest. Think of it as a poor man's version of Warcraft where you are the only person on the server. In addition, all the quest givers give long winded speeches that end with "kill everything in a linear path... or not... I really don't care". Playing this game is like reading the back of the cereal box at breakfast. It's better than just sitting there with your Golden Grahams but it isn't entertaining for long.

What I really miss is the human interaction that came with Warcraft. I may be sitting alone at my desk staring at a computer screen but I am confident in the knowledge that thousands of others are doing the exact same thing at the same moment. I can even wave to a stranger in the virtual landscape and it is likely he, or sometimes even she, will wave back. When I play Titan Quest I have no such reassurances. I think to myself, "I might be the only person on planet earth who is playing Titan Quest right now."

That's just sad.

Visiting Whittier

2007-06-18T07:24:00.001-07:00

Ginette and I visited Whittier for Father's Day this weekend. It was fun seeing my family and my 10 month old nephew James. He has the legs of a sumo wrestler. Click on the picture to see the small set I posted on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundins/tags/whittier/

Passionate Love

2007-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

I was at Trader Joe's tonight and I thought to myself "I love you madly Trader Joe's". I then opened my mouth and repeated the same thing. Bad idea.

It got me thinking about what brands I passionately love. These are brands that have built up a masssive savings account of Dainel Goodwill and would need to make some serious missteps to lose it.

They can do no wrong. When they screw up I immediately forgive them, pull them onto my back and give them a super-bouncy piggyback ride around my living room.

It wouldn't do them justice to go into details about why I love them. In fact they would probably get embarassed. I'll just quickly show their logos. You don't mind do you guys?

The Problem with Lists

2007-05-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

I love lists. Any website that promises to show "The Top X Best Y of ALL TIME" is alright in my book. However it is frequently an exercise in disappointment. Here are the three biggest problems I see with "All Time Best" lists.

Data Sets
If you asked me to choose the "Top 3 Best Major-Release Comedies of 1995" I could do a fair job at that (1. Tommy Boy, 2. Billy Madison, 3. Judge Dredd). This list has a very limited data set; comedies released in 1995 that I actually liked.

Most lists on the Internet have massive data sets which make them wildly subjective and frequently inaccurate. Here are a few "number ones" I pulled from some Google searches:

Best Album of All Time: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (link)
Best Song of All Time: Like a Rolling Stone (link)
Best Movie of All Time (Tie): The Godfather/The Shawshank Redemption (link)
Best Athlete of All Time: Michael Johnson (link)
Best Car of All Time: McLaren F1 (link)
Best Tech Product of All Time: Netscape Navigator (link)

Many of these lists add explanations (i.e. excuses) why they chose a particular item for number one. The truth is that they could have easily made Imagine (#3) the number one song instead of Like a Rolling Stone with a slick excuse. Personally I am not a fan of any of the songs on this list until you reach #7, Johnny B. Goode.

And how much better is the #1 than the #2 really?

Margins
The inherent problem with large data sets is that the number 1 item is frequently only marginally better than the number 2 item. In fact, the number 1 item might only be marginally better than the number 50 item if there is a huge data set.

For the sake of arguments let's say Rolling Stone had 10,000 albums to choose from for their Top 500 Albums list. The best album would receive the maximum score of 100% and the worst album would receive the minimum score of 0%. If there was an even margin of goodness between each album (.01%) then Like a Rolling Stone is only .06% better than Johnny B. Goode. That is a pretty insignificant difference. In fact, the difference is statistically irrelevant.

What I would really like to see is a list that takes into account the entire data set, assigns a percentage rank to each item, and then shows the best (100%), a pretty good one (80%), an average one (50%), and then the worst one (0%). Then you would see some real differences. I have always wanted to see a full-tackle football game between the Chargers and a local JV high school team.

Good vs. Important
Is a top-ranked list item actually good or is it just important? Ginette and I both watched Blade Runner for a cinematography class at UCSD. While I can appreciate the influences of this movie, the film noir homage, the brilliance of Philip K. Dick's original work, the swaggering charm of Harrison Ford, and the future career of Ridley Scott, I really don't like this movie. It is dull and I feel like have seen the same thing a dozen times. Perhaps if i watched it when it first came out (I was 2 years old) I would feel differently. I also didn't like The Godfather and A Streetcar Named Desire. Sacrilegious I know.

My point.

On my desk I have a copy of Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. It is a daunting 1152 pages. I bought it based on a Top 100 Sci-Fi Books list I Googled the other day. It was the highest ranked book on the list that was written recently (1999) by an author I had heard of (I read Snow Crash). By my logic, this will be a good book, not simply an important one. However, 1152 pages is a much larger commitment than a 3 minute song so I am worried.

I'll start it tomorrow.

Google Maps

2007-04-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

So everyone knows Google Maps is the greatest (Tru dat! Double True!). However, they really solidified their position on the top with this new My Maps feature. I am having way too much fun with it.

Stalkers pay attention: Here are a few of the maps I have created.

Upcoming Seattle Trip
Favorite Restaurants in San Diego
Walking Direction to my Apartment
Bike Trail

...

2007-03-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

F.E.A.R.

2007-03-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am having a great time discovering all my PC games again now that I ponied up and bought a decent video card. With my old viseo card Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft always ran pretty well but I had to adjust Oblivion and F.E.A.R. down to 640x480 with all the pretty settings turned down to get any sort of decent frame rate.

This may sound cliché but playing a PC game the way developers intended is really the only way to go. It is truly a different experience. Playing some of these games has more in common with watching a movie than playing OG Super Mario Bros. While Mario was a ton of fun there was no doubt that you were playing a game that existed outside of yourself. The immersive experience of playing F.E.A.R. has the same hypnotic qualities of going to a movie. I find myself playing the same section of the game over and over just to see what it looks like to kill people from different angles and with different weapons. It's like watching the Matrix lobby scene but choosing to have Neo bust through the metal detector with a bucket full of grenades instead of a coat full of guns.

I'm a Star

2007-03-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

Back in junior high I had a very small role as a young Tex Watson for a film created by Biola University. My family kept a copy on VHS but I haven't seen it in years. Just today my Dad sent me a link Tex Watson's ministry website, Abounding Love, which posted the movie in its entirety (about 35 minutes). My 30 seconds of screen time appear in the first couple of minutes. Make sure to keep watching past the first interview scene in prison to catch a bonus shot of my Dad as an extra in the church scene wearing a bolo tie. The movie is based on a very interesting story that is worth reading about. However the budget was, clearly, very low. I think they spent all their money on fake mustache rentals. =)

Video Link: http://www.aboundinglove.org/media/index.php

Ascension

2007-03-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

I spent a good portion of the weekend liberating myself from CDs and it feels great. I have transcended the physical medium of compact discs and ascended to pure data.

Basically I went through every single CD and matched it up with its cover art. If the CD was in good condition and I had the case it went in my Music Trader pile so I can get sweet sweet credit. If the CD was scratched or missing its case it went into the trash. Every CD that I had a desire to ever listen to again got ripped. I have upwards of 4800 songs in my collection now. The only CDs I kept were a rare Jason and Jane Christmas CD that they made for friends and the Hulk Hogan CD which I couldn't bear to throw away.

"But... but... what about the cover art and the liner notes?" I know. I thought about this. I realized I'm not 16 anymore and really don't read liner notes after I first buy the CD (if at all). If you are reading this Cory, I apologize. I don't mean to disparage your craft.

I feel dirty

2007-01-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

Staying up late by yourself with an iTunes gift card and big fat headphones is dangerous. I convinced myself that it was a good idea to purchase the album LOL by Basshunter. After all, it satisfied all my primary criteria for music.

Relentless Bass - check
Vocals by a dude who is 5 years my junior - check
Swedish Lyrics that translate to praises of Warcraft III and IRC - check

I love it.

Children of Men

2007-01-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

I can't say much about this movie that hasn't already been said by the critics but I highly recommend it. I got to see it at the very underrated Hazard theatres in Mission Valley on the wide-release opening day.

Favorite Scene: Walking down the stairwell. I can't say more than that without giving a lot away but you will know the scene when you see it.

Least Favorite Scene: The all too obvious Abu Ghraib references when they are getting off the bus. I get it, don't hit me over the head.

Our movie buddies said they had a "Requiem for a Dream" vibe after leaving. I believe they meant that in a positive, boy-that-was-powerful, way.

I really wish we could have seen more of Julianne Moore. Se la vie.

New Hotness

2006-11-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

This is a heads up to all the style mavens out there that I am bringing the new hotness. Old school digital watches are IT.

By January you will see all the kids wearing the Casio A168W-1 with ElectroLuminescence and genuine metal band

Keep an eye on my wrist and mark my words.

Coconut Doughnut

2006-11-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

It is a scientific fact that no one likes coconut doughnuts. The sole reason for their existence is to make the other eleven doughnuts look delicious by comparison.

"Hmmm. There are only two doughnuts left in box. I wish I hadn't cruised in to work at 9:30 today. Let me see, the first one appears to be a talcum-powdered, lemon-jelly filled doughnut. The lemon jelly has clearly been sucked out through the jelly whole already. You can see the lipstick marks. It looks like a giant, deflated pimple. The other one is coconut. I think I'll go with the pimple."

Planetary Naming Conventions

2006-10-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

The easiest promises to break are the promises you make to yourself. The most recent self-promise I broke was to not buy any more gimmicky shirts from Threadless.com. This has nothing to do with Threadless not being awesome (it is), but I have way too many gimmicky threadless shirts. I was only going to buy the abstract artsy looking ones from now on. That agreements with myself was shattered yesterday when I purchased this lovely shirt labeled "Planetary Status". Ha Ha! Stupid Pluto. I can't wait for it to come in the mail.

This shirt got me thinking about all the lazy marketing people who named their product/service/business after a planet. They might say they named it after the original god name that inspired the planet name but that would be a lie.

Here is my list of well known planet rip-offs. This is all I could think of without any Geating (that is cheating with Google. Get it? I just made it up).

Mercury - The insurance company. The car brand.
Venus - The woman's razor.
Earth - None I can think of. I guess it would be confusing calling your product earth since, you know, we all live here.
Mars - The candy bar.
Jupiter - Not sure on this one. Isn't a Jupiter research group or something?
Saturn - The car brand.
Uranus - The punch line to many jokes but I can' think of any brands.
Neptune - Hmmm. The band (or are they producers)?
Pluto - The dog.

Drumsticks

2006-09-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany at lunch today. I am going to create and market a new product called drumsticks on a drumstick. Basically it will be a fried chicken drumstick and an ice cream drumstick speared on a regulation size wooden drumstick.

I will sell them at the fair.

When you walk up to my drumsticks on a drumstick stand you will see my D.O.A.D.s in their special see through D.O.A.D. containment box. It will be a clear box with one heating side and one freezing side to keep the D.O.A.D.s in a state of perfect hot/cold equilibrium.

And the best part is you get to keep the drumstick when you are done. A sticky, greasy drumstick. The kids will love it (and buy two)!

Art

2006-09-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ginette and I hit up the Adams Avenue Street Fair on Sunday. It was a beautiful day to be out walking around. For the most part it was the same old stuff for sale. However this time we actually bought something. An awesome artist named Gabe Leonard was selling prints and we just had to buy this great Johnny Cash print. We framed it and put it up the same day. Check out his website and buy some work. We got dibs on Cash though so we better not see this hanging up in your living room.

Disc Golf

2006-09-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Dan Kit's comment to my last post here are a few pictures I took at the disc golf course in Rancho Sordo Mudo. As far as I can tell this only 1 of 2 courses in all of Mexico.

Active Hobbies

2006-09-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

So I have narrowed my active hobbies* down to five.

Mountain Biking
Raquetball
Surfing
Lifting Weights
Golf (Disc)
Golf (The regular kind)

For a hobby to be on my active list I have to have done it at least once in the last six monthhs.

Is this too many active hobbies? I can't seem to really commit to one. I like them all for short periods and then get bored with them. Surfing is my current favorite and I have been going out every week with some guys from work.

It would be nice to just stick to one and be "that guy who is really good at [insert active hobby]." I guess I run the risk of also being labeled as "that guy who is really weird and is always talking about [insert active hobby]."

*While it is true that I spend quite a bit of time playing World of Warcraft I can't call it an active hobby since screaming at my computer is not excercise.

Workplace Hazards

2006-09-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever shown up for work on a Monday morning, drank 2 giant cups of coffee, started cleaning up some nasty html code, and then started blasting your Metallica Mega Mix™ on your iPod? I have. It is a dangerous thing. I get so pumped that I just want to slam my fist through my 17" LCD. Blam! I can't even fathom how dangerous it would be if I used a nail gun or drove a Semi for my job.

I think they should do workplace iPod genre screenings and only allow soft rock, adult contemporary and new age.

Spell Checkin'

2006-09-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

I give myself a point every time I spellcheck an email and get busted for a word that is not acceptable to Microsoft but is acceptable to me. I got 3 points for an email I just sent that contained the words "bloglines", "woot", and "FTW."

Woot for Internet slang. I can't wait until I have kids. I am going to be so confused.

Biking

2006-07-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I biked to work today. It was more out of necessity than anything since my beloved Volvo is in the shop. According to my nifty bike computer this was a total of 2.01 miles in 12 minutes. To be fair there are 2 gnarly hills.

By the time I got to work my shirt was soaked through. When is it ever 80 degrees and 65% humidity at 8am in San Diego! I mean give me a break here.

On the plus side there were some coworkers who saw me bike in sweating like a pig. I know they must secretly think that I just finished an epic ride or something. Oh ya.

Most Popular

2006-07-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

One of my daily visted websites is Yahoo! News Most Popular. It displays the top 10 articles and pictures for the day in 3 different categories; Most Emailed, Most Viewed, and Most Recommended. I couldn't help but relish the juxtaposition of today's most viewed and most recommended pictures.

What we recommned to others: Destruction in the Middle East

What we actually want to look at: Pretty girls

Prognostication

2006-07-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

I remember reading this article and chuckling back in 2004. He He, 5 blades. No way.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930?issue=4228&special=2004

Then right around the super bowl they put out this bad boy.

Gotta love SNL for taking it to the logical extreme with the Platinum Mach 14.

During all the hullabaloo I went electric...

Inconsistencies

2006-06-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Two inconsistencies have been on my mind this week. They are very minor things but I haven't written about anything in a while.

Don't Shoot the Messenger - We all know this phrase and many of us have probably used it as a defense. Working in a corporate office I know I have. However, I really enjoy giving someone good news even if I had absolutely nothing to do with it. When they respond with excitement and give me big hugs I certainly don't say "Don't Praise the Messenger!"

Raisins and Prunes - What makes these guys so special? They are just dried grapes and plums. I have eaten at least a dozen different dried fruits before and none of them, save these two, get special names. Dried apples are called dried apples, not wizzgimbos or any other bizarre name.

Need Advice?

2006-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have become pretty numb to banner ads, text ads, etc. on web sites. i am sure this is true for most avid web users. However I finally started paying attention to an ad that appears on the right side of the screen whenever I look something up on my new favorite website, answers.com. There is a smartish looking guy with glasses offering me advice on (apparently) any topic. I am less interested in the service and more interested in making him say funny things. Specifically, I need mustache advice. Ha ha. I am bored...

Archetypes

2006-05-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

There are two sterotypes that I seem to see everywhere in advertising. These two particular groups of people simply don't exist in the real world in the same proportion they do on TV, print advertising, etc.

Stereotype 1: The Sassy Black Woman

Characteristics: Colorful clothes, excessively cheerful, dread-fro, non-threatening.
Frequently Sited: Hanging out with an asian woman and a white woman... with the white woman in the middle, upwardly mobile, in a Hanes commercial.

Stereotype 2: The Handsome, Virile, White-Haired Gentleman

Characteristics: White or Gray hair that is not receding, confident, impotent, Anderson Cooper.
Frequently Sited: Schilling for Cialis, Mutual Funds, or AARP (even though the actor is clearly not old enough to qualify).

Internet Memes

2006-04-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

I ran across this great collection of Internet phenomenon or "memes" as us snobby Communications majors like to refer to them as. How many of them do you know?

Internet Phenomenons

One of my favorites is still limecat.

Suggestive Selling Run Amok

2006-04-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

So I got this in my inbox today. I honestly want to know what previous purchases convinced the Amazon robot to make this suggestion.

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

Since you have purchased extreme sports gear or beef snacks in the past, we thought you might like to know that Slim Jim, Original, Case of 12 15-Ounce Canisters is now available for ordering. Order yours by following the link below.

Hmmm, based on his buying patterns I bet this guy would order meat sticks (in bulk) through the mail.

Karate Kommandos

2006-04-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to my last post I have started TIVOing Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1986). This is a shameless Chuck Norris and friends cartoon that involves Chuck battling "The Claw" and "Super Ninja".

My favorite scene so far involves Super Ninja hijacking a Space Shuttle. To accomplish this he... wait for it... launches various ninjas and CROCODILES from a catapult on a boat in the harbor at the launch site. The ninjas AND the crocodiles deploy parachutes (wtf?) and one of the crocodiles actually crashes through the window into the room where Chuck and his team are viewing the launch. Chuck wrestles the croc to the ground and throws it into a closet. Mind you these aren't radioactive or mind controlled crocodiles. They are just run of the mill crocodiles that have, apparently, been trained to use parachutes and attack only Chuck and his team of Karate Kommandos. This all happens within the first 45 seconds of the episode. awesome.

Chuck Norris

2006-03-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

Here I am, showing up late to the party again. I just got on the chuck Norris bandwagon today after hearing titterings about it for a while.

Check out http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com

Here are my favorite so far:
- Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Chuck Norris has 72... and they're all poisonous.
- When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.
- Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.
- Chuck Norris can hit you so hard that he can actually alter your DNA. Decades from now your descendants will occasionally clutch their heads and yell "What The Hell was That?"

For a history of this bizzareness, check out
http://www.answers.com/topic/chuck-norris-facts?method=22

Snakes on a Plane!

2006-03-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I am probably the 10 thousandth person to blog about this but I can't help myself.

Imagine you are a movie producer and you are in a pitch meeting. All you are told is that the movie will be starring Sam Jackson and the title is... wait for it... Snakes on a Plane. Do you buy it? Most sane people would not, but New Line Cinema did. I predict that this movie will have a ridiculously large opening weekend with a fantastic crash in box office dollars on the second weekend.

Reuters Article
My favorite part of this article (my emphasis)

Chris Rohan of Bethesda, Md., created an elaborate, R-rated audio trailer that lovingly mocks the title and movie. "It's a genius title," Rohan said. "It's so stupid it's great. It invites satire, but it's something you just love. It's something I can't explain. You either get it or you don't."

The audio bit uses a Jackson sound-alike shouting, "I want these mother------- snakes off the mother------- plane!" Soon, the growing legion of fans added their voices as they demanded that that phrase also appear in the movie.

Apparently, the studio got the hint. When Ellis assembled Jackson and others for the recent shoot, the filmmakers added more gore, more death, more nudity, more snakes and more death scenes. And they shot a scene where Jackson does utter the line that fans have demanded.

All hail the power if the Internet and obsessive fan boys and girls!

The Truck

2006-03-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

I saw a truck at the gas station that apparently made deliveries/pickups for a thrift shop. The name of the thrift shop printed on the side of the truck was "Your Sister's Closet." Does that seem creepy to anyone else? That truck had to be a front for some used clothing smuggling ring.

What An Age We Live In

2006-03-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

While sitting in my chair I...

- Visit my favorite deals site and notice some cheap Kenneth Cole Shoes
- Visit the Amazon link and see that they actually have my size (in black of course) and look pretty cool.
- I place my order with 3 clicks and get free shipping with my Amazon Prime membership and don't have to pay tax since Amazon shrewdly doesn't have a distribution center in California
- 2 days later the nice gentleman from the mailroom brings me my shiny new shoes in their sealed Amazon box.
- I take off my old shoes and put on my pretty new shoes...

All without leaving my chair! Man I'm lazy.

Your Dog Wants to Go Hang Gliding

2006-02-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

My Endorsement

2006-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

I don't endorse things on a regular basis. However, when I do endorse something I put all my weight behind it. This is considerable considering my gym time has been lacking as of late. (Off topic: G and I bought bikes last week and took them out to Balboa Park yesterday. It was awesome.)

Anyway, I like to push things that I really enjoy in the hopes that the movie, artist, product, or service does very well and continues to put out great movies, music, products, or services. In no particular order, here are the things that I am strongly endorsing at the moment. You will not be disappointed. BTW, I am always on the lookout for new, cool stuff so feel free to comment on what you are currently promoting.

TIVO - Get it now. No more questions. It will change your life and save your marriage.
Threadless.com - Purveyors of uber cool shirts. I just bought this one today. I would recommend getting on their mailing list since the newest, coolest ones sell out very quickly. I'm talking within hours sometimes.
Answers.com - This is my new favorite website. It literally has answers to everything. I was able to settle an argument about the origins of baby corn at a party by pulling this website up on my Blackberry. Add it to your bookmarks.
Nate + Jaclyn - Simply fantastic photographers. They did our wedding and my sister's wedding. We actively keep up with their blog to see their current work. If you are in the Southern California you need to check them before they get so popular that you can no longer afford them.
The Office - Have you been watching this show? Lordy it is ridiculously funny. Extra funny if you work, or have ever worked, in an office setting.
Chili Fries - I don't have a link for this one but Chili Fries freakin rock.
The Simpsons (pre-2000)- This one doesn't really count per my above description of supporting things in the hopes that they will continue to do well but I just had to mention it. The Simpsons rock so hard it is difficult to comprehend. Specifically, seasons 3 through about 7. Ya, ya, "I have seen the Simpsons and they are pretty funny." Watch these older episodes again on DVD to with your finger on the rewind button and your laptop on your lap to try and keep up with all the subtle and hilarious references.

If you hang out with me on a regular basis at all these are all familiar to you since I talk about them constantly. Sorry.

2 Ads That Must Be Stopped

2006-01-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

The Guitar Center and the Used Care Tent Sale at Qualcomm Stadium need to STOP putting out advertisements that scream about how quickly their sale is going to end and what amazing deals they are. If you have the sale ever single week, it is certainly not "once in a lifetime." I hate to admit it but I almost went to that tent sale when I was looking to buy a car. In hindsight I am very glad I did not.

I <3 my Volvo.

Best. Links. Ever.

2006-01-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

The "D&G Approved Links" on the right represent web pages that I visit frequently. Many of them several times a day. While they represent mine and Ginette's personal interests they all have one unifying characteristic. They are all updated with new, interesting content very frequently. Some of them, like Fark and CNN, get new content almost hourly. This is what keeps me coming back.

What is the old real estate adage? Location, Location, Location. The same is true for web pages, Content, Content, Content. These web pages don't have the best design on the planet, but they have some of the best content.

So what am I missing? What pages do you visit frequently with killer content?

P.S. There are several other pages that I visit very often but they are just way too nerdy for me to post. They are D approved but they certainly aren't G approved.

Rambling #1 - Hair Products

2006-01-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

I had two product questions last night when G and I were out shopping.

#1 - What could they possibly put in some of these hair products to justify their outrageous costs? Do they actually contain ingredients that are rare and hard to come by? What ingredients are in these things... anteater placenta, holy water, a baaaby?

Specifically, I was looking at the male hair product, Fiber by Crew. This little "puck" cost over $17. Granted it lasts for an eternity but it comes to over $4.00 an ounce. That is quickly approaching illegal narcotic prices. Right near it was Biosilk. This little bottle of conditioner or whatever cost a whopping $24 and had the audacity to include 1 sentence worth of directions on the back. They basically said, "put in hair." You think for $24 they would put some major selling points on there.

Anyway, I bought the Fiber, and passed on the Biosilk.

Welcome

2006-01-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

Daniel and Ginette have a blog... I am so excited... wait.

What about Davisu?
What about TeamStrikeForce?

I am disenchanted. As well you should be my friend. I make no guarantees that this will last either... but we'll see.