Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lynx is a Cat

But links are like websites.
Here are some links that I kind of like,
or that have interested or intrigued me for any space of time.

It's Black Friday time and the deals are awesome!
That's right I like 'um.
In fact, one of my favorite Deals is the Amazon.com one. You vote on your deals and then depending on how people vote, you get an unbeatable price. They have electronics, and Books, and oh yeah, that sweet KitchenAid Professional thing (it's big, and I wouldn't recommend all KitchenAids, but it's Sweet - consistently getting rave reviews and It's RREAALLY on SALE.)

And Speaking of Sales...
Remember how I was saying that NG's magazines were on sale? Well they are. Get your first year of National Geographic for under $20.

I have a hard time passing up a good sale,
and well there are a few others that I've been known to check. Of course, these ones change regularly:

http://www.govdeals.com/eas/
https://surplusapps.dts.utah.gov/SPOMaster/public.aspx
http://www.tntauction.com/auctions.asp
http://209.90.75.61/sms/utah,ut/browse/home?tm=m

And Speaking of the Government...
And Change...

www.usa.gov Has links to tons of cool government sponsered sites.

www.whitehouse.gov talks about who has the power now.
and www.change.gov talks about who's gonna have it. (next year-ish)
I'm not sure why, but cabinet positions really intrigue me.

Another thing that intrigues me is Photoshop Express.
It's simple, and lets you do a good amount of basic edits. I don't have to play with it, because I have the real deal, but I would bet that it will just get better and better. I think it's even free, which of course is also cool. And they may even let you store some photos there.

Of course for online storage You can't beat a skydrive. Ok I'm lying, I don't know if you can or not. I had a really cool account with Xdrive, but they're shutting it down. So I got myself a skydrive. Five Gigs. Free Space. Store, Share, Send, Etc. I like the concept a lot. In fact I like the concept enough that I signed up, and yes, they're a Microsoft thingy. I know, I couldn't believe it either. But it does what I want, and I want an online storage drive.

Of course for crazy cool online things you can't beat google.
They're not just for searches any more. Yeah, nowadays, you can search, or list, or email, or draw, or map, or stargaze, schedule, buy, well, pretty much anything. I especially like the blogs, The Google Docs, and my friend the Picasa. Seriously Google = really smart, I think.

And one more thing...
I know I say it a lot but LDS.org is totally awesome.
I love how they have information about everything, but also lot of cool things too. This page highlights both, the info and the cool. It will take you anywhere. awesome.

Well there you have it. Some places I've been, and the places I like. It's kinda fun.
ttfn

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

10,000 Watts of Entertainment

I noticed something very interesting
while I was watching some TV one day.

I noticed that I like bright things.
Super-bright.

No not the amount of light that it puts out,
(though I seriously didn't like that one harry potter movie)
But how smart it is, or maybe...
how significant intelligence is to the program.


As I looked back these were some shows that I noticed I watched.
Most of them use excellence as a substitute for
the tradition formulas that hollywood tends to believe in.


So without much ado, I give you a look at the shows I have found my self watching.

Psych: My friends used to rave about it, but I had my doubts. How could it possibly be that good, I'd never even heard of it. But of course, I was wrong. The more I watch, the more clever it becomes. It's two really smart guys solving crimes, one's got a great memory, and an eye for detail, the other just happens to know a lot of things that no one else knows. And it's funny.
I admit I'm a little jealous.

and then there were two.

See the Mentalist is basically the same show, but without an amusing sidekick to play off. It's not quite the same, and perhaps it's a little more serious, but I still kind of like it. Usually they focus more on the main guy and his 'special abilities.' (again basically observation and remembrance), and less on the gory details of a crime drama. I hope they can make something good of this one. It's better than most, but I'd say still a w.i.p.

NCIS: firmly planted on the line between crime drama and comedy. Near as I can tell it started with a few episodes on J.A.G., and well six years later its better than ever. It takes a team to solve these things, the best team, crazy smart person here, crazy smart person there (crazy smart as in really really smart - top o' the class kind of people). My mom got me started here,
and I admit I usually like it.


Sidenote -- Does anybody else love foxtrot? I think it's awesome. I mean what other comic can tell jokes with math equations and still be funny. Way to be Bill Amend!

and speaking of math...
How about that Numb3rs show?

I mean awesome. Solving crimes with probabilities and statistics, and well, math.
Again it's really smart. Again I wish I knew some of that.

And speaking of what I wish I knew...
Jeopardy. I mean how cool is that a whole show about how much you know, and if you get it right you come back, and then you get to do it again. I've always kind of liked it. Ok I love it. I mean I even taped those Ken Jennings days (yeah my brother did some church work with him in Europe). What is... Amazing... Good clean fun.

And speaking of amazing, one of the greats has got to be the original Iron Chef.
One hour to create a whole menu and every dish has to include the secret ingredient, so secret that there's no way to prepare for it. Just two chefs, Brilliant chefs, and staff, and any ingredients they may need.

Now part of what makes Iron Chef so good is the English narration: Alton Brown and his insightful comments about the ingredients and the dishes, yeah he's a little nerdy, but that may be why I liked it.

And when I found out his show Good Eats is exactly that, the science, and history, and trivia off food, well I decided I liked it too. It's really good.

And how about that PBS. I mean I love watching a good episode of Charlie Rose, or the Nightly Business Report. And now that I can watch ole' Charlie do his thing (interview Americas best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and roundtable discussions) at a slightly better hour, life is really good.

And what about quantum leap one of my best friends got me started here. I'm not sure how many of the seasons I missed, but the guy created a time machine, I mean how cool is that. (random sidenote, same guy created NCIS... Other sidenote I hear they're making a movie).
Yeah I think the same friend introduced me to SeaQuest.

I remember Due South, you know the really smart mounty. He played his own way, but he was sharp. So Coool.

Of course the quintessential tv super smart guy is MacGyver. He can get into or out of anything, and he doesn't like guns. He doesn't even need them. He just uses what's around.

One of my favorites... back before my mission, was The Pretender. A smart guy, righting others wrongs. The cool thing here, besides of course the righting of wrongness, was that he could do pretty much anything. Not just smarter than your average bear, way smarter.

Finally I would like to conclude with Chuck. I like Chuck. He's very down to earth, trying to do the right thing, and somewhat socially awkward. Clearly it's his brain that makes this show work. Ok and the humor, but still it's cool to see a nerd (typical or not) save the day every now and then. And here it's basically every not just now and then.


So there you have it I like the exceptional.
The intelligent, and the outstanding.
Consciously or not, I look for the bright ones.
Yeah I really like the bright ones.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Facebook video

Here's a little little video on privacy in Face***

Friday, November 07, 2008

Quick List

I noticed the other day that I have an interesting set of goals.
so I thought I would share some of them with everyone.
the ones that I find most interesting.

  • That $18 library card.
  • Be debt free.
  • Eat good cheese often (Espcially Haloumi)
  • Two ovens
  • Side by side fridge, and freezer (individual units... more of a wish than a goal)
  • Buy at least one book a month
  • Read at least one book every 5 weeks
  • Earn enough money from interest to live off for a month.
  • Live up north. (I have a specific place, but I'm not saying it right now)
  • See a live professional sporting event (preferably RSL)*
  • Make a trip to the nearest St. George esque city once a month
  • Own a sweet camera
  • Take sweet pictures
  • Own a DDR game, or a PIUE
  • Go to Greece **
  • Go on a mission (or two or something)
  • Take 1 class per year
  • Be that crazy uncle who gives educational presents (like books)
  • Be a grandfather
  • Get my knee/lungs to where I can play any sport I want, the way I want
  • Own a piano
  • Play every song in the h. book
  • Perform with a trash can band
  • Own my own home
  • Read the last half of the old testament
  • Subscribe to three or four magazines
* ok so I did see some of the 2002 Olympics, but I want more
**Also I have been to Greece and served a mission, but see above.

Ü