Monday, December 7, 2009

Don't Slip on the Steps


I read recently that "falls" are the number one cause of at-home injuries. It was in an article about something as simple as how to avoid falling down the steps.

Yes, we've been reduced to reading news about how to walk. I'm just waiting for the government to pass legislation about it.

Actually, there are laws about your steps already. There are building codes that control things like how steep your steps can be, and how the handrail needs to be hung (what height, how long, etc.)

The article actually had like seven different ideas on how to avoid tripping. Yes, apparently there are that many things you can do wrong.

Some of them were obvious, like: hold the handrail, keep clutter off the steps, turn the lights on, etc.

Others made sense like: use stair tread rugs to prevent slipping in socks, or make several trips if you need to carry stuff on the steps (avoid over-loading).

Anyway, it made me chuckle, but I guess common sense isn't "common" any more.


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Makeup Tips with Glasses


There are special techniques that can be used to apply make-up for those who wear glasses. Certain considerations need to be made to account for how the lenses make your eyes appear, and how the lighting plays through the glasses. For example, lenses for near-sighted wearers make the eyes appear smaller to others, while far-sighted lenses make the eyes appear larger.

Frames can cast shadows around the eyes which can be exacerbated by dark circles under the eyes. Use a salmon-tinted base to brighten the blue area directly beneath the eyes.

Another problem that glasses can cause to the makeup is when the nose brace of the glasses smears, smudges, or removes the makeup on the nose. Mineral foundation can help prevent the smudging.

Eyeliner should emphasize your lower lid, not your upper lid, as the angle of light coming through the lenses will balance this out when you are actually wearing the glasses.

You will want to minimize the amount of mascara on your lashes, since the glasses can rub the mascara off, or make it appear uneven. Like with the eyeliner, be sure to emphasize more on your lower lashes than your upper.

When you apply blush to your cheeks, be sure to suck in your cheeks so that you create indentations on your face. Apply the blush to the sunken areas of your cheeks, which will sculpt your face in a way that emphasizes your natural cheekbones. Having them clearly defined can help prevent the glasses from becoming the dominant feature of your face.

When you are finished applying all of your makeup, be sure to re-check in various lighting settings from your makeup mirror. And, of course, be sure to check with your glasses on.

Be sure your makeup vanity table provides ample lighting, and if need be, magnification, since you will be applying your makeup without your glasses on.


Friday, November 13, 2009

Dog is Annoying


My neighbor has a dog that is super annoying.

It barks at me every time I'm in the yard.

It barks when no one is in the yard but my daughter is trying to take a nap.

It barks in the morning.

It barks in the evening.

It's driving me crazy.

At first I was thinking that a burger with some Ex-lax in it might be the right solution. I still haven't decided which type of dog barking control device I'm going to get...but I know they have these ultrasonic ones that I can mount in my yard. They supposedly detect the barking and then pulse this sound that humans can't hear but it annoys the dogs. I'm wondering if I can't amplify it somehow. Bwuahahahaa!


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Fried Kitty Cat


Poor kitty.

Our cat, Snuffles (short for 'Snuffleupugus', but that's a story for another time), spends a good deal of time outside. Which is fine, except we feel a little bad about the cold weather.

We had a brand-new electric blanket, with DUAL control!! Now we can each keep our side the temperature we want. But the point is, we decided we'd use the old one in a small dog house outside to keep Snuffles warm. A bit redneck, I admit.

Anywho, Snuffles loved it. At first. She would snuggle down into the dog house...in fact there were times we'd call and call and even open a can of cat food and she wouldn't come out. We'd have to reach in there and drag her toasty self out.

Apparently, though, either the scent of her humans on the blanket, or a desire to get even warmer, drove her to start gnawing on the blankets. She was shredding that thing like a gerbil. Until she hit the wire. Yup. She got a big mouthful of e-lec-tricity! I wish I could have seen how fast she shot out of the doghouse...she still won't go back in.

Needless to say, we trashed the old blanket, and got a cat heating pad, which is designed to be the right temp, with less electricity. And chew-proof! :) I'm sure Snuffles will love it, if we can ever get her back into the doghouse.


Monday, November 9, 2009

A tribute


My wife is something special. She is an incredible gift to me, and I am thankful for her every day.

To that end, I have created a blog devoted to her:

Best Wife In The Whole World

I haven't told her about it yet. I'm saving it for those rare days when she's feeling blue. I might even save it for when I do something stupid, or say the wrong thing, or forget something important. :)

She rocks!


Thursday, November 5, 2009

Neti Pots are Gross


OK...seriously. Neti Pots?

Does anyone remember swimming as a kid, jumping into the pool, and that delightful feeling when you forgot to exhale through your nose and you took a gallon of water all the way into your nose.

Now people are doing that in the name of 'health'.

I know, I know: "The neti pot has been around for centuries...". Why is it that we keep looking backwards for health solutions? Didn't the people who invented neti pots also bury twin babies alive because they couldn't tell which one was the demon? These are the people we look to for our health solutions?

If you don't know what it is, a neti pot is like a teapot with a long spout. You put a warm saline mixture, called a neti pot solution, in it, turn your head to the side, insert the spout in your upper nostril, and let it rinse through your sinus cavities and out the bottom nostril.

Yummy.

Seriously, there probably are some benefits. But the 'yuck' factor of rinsing my snot out with a teapot is too high for me. For kicks and giggles, go to YouTube and search for neti pot and watch the grossness.


Friday, October 23, 2009

Kids Falling Out Of Bed


It freaks me out when I'm up late blogging in my office when suddenly the ceiling goes BOOM! Especially since my toddler daughter is supposed to be asleep in the room right above the office.

Ever since we took down the baby bed rails, I've been scared she'll fall out. And even though she's getting bigger (almost 4), and can easily climb in and out, she still occasionally falls out.

At first this terrified me. I run through the house and fly upstairs and burst into the room to rescue my darling, only to find out that she's still asleep...on the floor in a jumble of stuffed animals, pillows and blankets that she took with her when she fell. I put her back in, and she's right back to sleep, if she even ever woke up.

Now I laugh. I mean, seriously, these kids sleep like the dead. If I fell out of bed in the middle of the night, I'd have enough adrenaline pumping through my veins to lift a car. Forget going back to sleep...that might happen in a few days. My son usually wakes up long enough to look around groggily, say something completely random, and then crawl back in bed.

Ah, the sleep of the innocent!


Building a Cheap Desk


If you want an inexpensive desk, you can build one yourself for much less money than even the cheapest pre-made desks out there. All without any construction skills whatsoever.

Go buy two cheap 2-drawer file cabinets, and an unfinished door. You can find a door at a local hardware store. It doesn't matter if the doorknob hole is there or not. Just make sure the door is flat (like an inside door).

Put the two file cabinets about 4 feet apart and place the door on top. It's as simple as that!

This type of desk gives you the perfect height, a lot of space to spread out your papers, and 4 drawers for storage.

If you want it to look a little classier, use a wood file cabinet instead of a metal one.


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Wizard 101 Blog


There's a new blog about Wizard 101, and I'm enjoying it already. You can tell it's a real dad, writing about his real experiences with his son playing Wizard 101...and you can tell he's got previous MMO experience.

You can find the site for Wizard 101 Hints, Tips and Help at http://wiz101.net.

I plan on following this blog, to see what he's up to next!


Thursday, October 8, 2009

Buying Office Chairs


When buying chairs for the office, there are several factors that you should keep in mind.

If you are buying stacking office chairs, you need to consider options like:

  • casters or foot pads
  • arms/sides
  • cushioning
  • how high they stack (how much room you have to store them)
Pricing for these types of office chairs varies widely, from as low as $25 per chair up to a few hundred per chair!

Also, keep in mind the fact that when you buy online, you will pay big-time shipping and delivery charges...sometimes up to half the cost of the chair!

So, weigh what you really need, how often you will be stacking them, how much use they will get, how long someone will be sitting in one at a time, etc., before you start shopping.


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

An LCD TV for Under a Cabinet


In my recent efforts to lose weight, I've been spending a lot more time in the kitchen. I know that sounds ironic, but the problem is that in the past, I relied on 'quick' food, that wasn't that healthy. When I actually spend time preparing food, cooking, etc., it ends up being healthy food.

I can't see the TV in my living room from my kitchen. So, I've been looking into getting an under counter TV for the kitchen. I'm looking for something with a screen big enough to see from across the kitchen, but also has a DVD player so I can watch movies while I cook.

The idea is to be able to watch TV and movies. The one thing that seems to be a pain for any under cabinet TV is running a wire from your cable/satellite box. There's no easy way to hide the cable. If you're willing to forgo connectivity to cable or satellite, most of them have a decent receiver. And hey, there's always the DVD!


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Take a Nap, Kid!


My 3-year-old has decided that she doesn't need a nap any more. Well, WE need her to nap. The quiet time in the afternoon is essential for us, and if she doesn't nap, she's exhausted by 7pm.

Unfortunately, her room is a southern exposure room, which means she gets lots of direct sunlight in the afternoon.

We decided to get some room darkening curtains to block the light. That helped by making it nice and dark. So she started to get up and turn the light on. lol

Fortunately the light in her room is on a ceiling fan, so we can turn it off with the chain at the fan...even though she can reach the wall switch, she can't turn it on.

Eventually we added an air purifier to make some white noise. If she is even slightly tired, that knocks her right out. :)


Thursday, June 25, 2009

Video - Perez Hilton Getting Punched


Boo frickedy hoo.

Gets up in a man's face, using derogatory language, then blubbers like a baby when he gets smacked.

Violence should be avoided, but Perez needed to learn that words have consequences.

I wonder if the police will sue Perez Hilton for jamming up the phone lines with all of his Twitter followers.



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

World of Warcraft Patch 3.2 - Upcoming Changes


Confirmed:

General

  • The mount system will be changed to allow training of mount skills at lower levels. This applies to class-specific travel abilities as well.
  • A new zeppelin between Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff will be added.
  • Portals to the Stair of Destiny in Hellfire Peninsula will be added to Orgrimmar and Stormwind City.
  • Players will receive the flight path from the Stair of Destiny to Shattrath City automatically.
  • More changes to the Argent Tournament will be made, and new rewards added.

Raids & Dungeons

  • A new instance, called Crusaders' Coliseum is added for 5, 10 and 25-player groups and raids. This is an instance similar to the Ring of Blood.

Player versus Player

  • Arena Season 7 will begin after the release of 3.2, with new rewards.
  • Isle of Conquest, a new battleground similar to Alterac Valley and Arathi Basin, will be added.

Professions

  • Jewelcrafting
    • Dragon's Eye gems will no longer be considered "Prismatic," and qualifying jewelcrafters who have cut Dragon's Eye gems will be compensated with Dalaran Jewelcrafter Tokens.

Death Knight

  • Dual Wield specs will be getting attention.

Druid

  • New art for bear and cat forms will be added.

Paladin

  • Changes will be made to improved Holy gameplay in terms of healing.
  • Exorcism will be changed.

Shaman

  • Base health will be increased to be similar to other classes.

Rumor:

General

  • Pets and resilience scaling.
  • The ammo changes.
  • Looking For Group improvements.

Raids & Dungeons

  • Ironbound / Rusted Proto-Drakes removed from the Ulduar achievements.

Player versus Player

  • The ability to level via battlegrounds.

Professions

  • Engineering
    • Nitro Boots may be changed again (this time positively though).
  • Fishing
    • Changes to fishing; an "overhaul" possible.

Druid

  • Balance DPS rotation improvements, including a possible Brain Freeze-like mechanic.

Hunter

  • PvP improvements to increase their Arena representation.

Paladin

  • Changes to make MP5 a more desirable stat for Paladins.
  • A new cooldown for Protection Paladins and tanking.
  • Retribution changes to remove frontloading reliance and smooth out DPS rotations.

Shaman

  • A new totem placing system that allows 4 totems to be dropped at once.
  • "Totem Stomping" macros will be disabled, forcing pet classes to target a totem to destroy it the same way other classes need to.
  • Low-level Shaman will be able to trade in their totems for a single totem that can be equipped in the relic slot.
  • The range of totems will be evaluated to ensure their usefulness on raid bosses.
  • Buff totems replaced with normal spells.
  • More totems merged together.
  • Chain Heal improved.
  • PvP mobility addressed.


Saturday, May 23, 2009

Using YouTube to Create Content


Using YouTube to Create Content: "A great little idea for creating content for a blog or website..."


Monday, April 27, 2009

Swine Flu in Las Vegas


Is there an outbreak of Swine Flu in Las Vegas, Nevada?

I want to plan a trip there, but I know that there are all kinds of travel advisories with the rapid spread of Swine Flu.

When I Googled "swine flu in las vegas", I got about 187,000 hits.

It is hard to discern between the stupid news stories and the truth. Some of the news (or "no-news" stories) had titles like "No Swine Flu Reported in Las Vegas". I mean, come on! If there's nothing to report, do we have to have a news story saying that there is no news?!

I searched through the first few pages of Google's results for "Swine Flu in Las Vegas" and the stories were so mixed that I couldn't know what to make of it.

Post a link of a confirmed story of a case of Swine Flu in Las Vegas.


Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bible PassWord - Surfing the Web with Jesus!


There's a new software program out on the market called Bible PassWord.

It basically blocks internet access until you type in a Bible verse. It has an option, too, to re-block at timed intervals, set by the user.

The concept came about from a woman who had a compulsive shopping habit. She literally froze her credit card...in a baggie of water in the freezer. She could still use it if she needed it, but thawing it slowed down her access to it, and gave her time to evaluate her intentions.

This software is designed to do the same thing...slow down access just enough to remind folks that God is with you while you browse the web.

It's pretty cool.

It's at Bible PassWord: www.biblepassword.com


Friday, March 20, 2009

Obama's Special Olympics Joke


Obama appeared on Jay Leno, where, among other things, they discussed Obama's poor bowling skills. He compared his bowling to the Special Olympics. An obvious attempt at a joke.

As is typical, someone got offended. The chairman of the Special Olympics says, "words hurt".

Begin rant:

1. WTF, Mr. Obama, are you doing going on a COMEDY show in the midst of an "economic crisis" (your words)?! Our Congress are making up laws to tax individual citizens at 90%, ex post facto (after the fact), in spite of the limits of the Constitution on Congress prohibiting such. And you decide it's appropriate to 'yuk it up' with Leno. Dumb move.

2. WTF, Mr. Obama, are you doing slamming a group of people who can't help themselves?! I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the defenders of the helpless against the evil Republicans! I thought you were supposed to be the captain of compassion! That was just tactless. Dumb move.

3. Get over it, Mr. Chairman of the Special Olympics. Yes, words hurt. But show a little realism. Folks qualifying for the Special Olympics typically aren't as good at sports as a person without physical disability. Right? Hence the "Special". So, if Obama, without disability, could be beat by someone with a disability, doesn't that sortof illustrate the point of the Special Olympics in the first place?!

I'm just tired of the friggin' whining and finger pointing. Our president is screwing up big time, messing with the economy, propping up banks that should fail, then changing the deal on them. Our Congress is overstepping its limitations as set forth in our founding documents (that little, annoying document called The Constitution, which every member of Congress swore an oath to protect). And people are getting outraged because the President makes a joke that might hurt someone's feelings.

Dumb, yes, but it's just a picadillo compared to other things going on.


Thursday, March 12, 2009

What does "Snollygoster" mean?


Snollygoster means:

snollygoster: a monster that preyed on chickens or kids
snollygoster: a nasty man whose chief motivation is selfishness
snollygoster: someone without principals or morals, who is deceitful
snollygoster: a politician

In case you were wondering, this wasn't multiple choice. It means all of those things.

Which really isn't a stretch, if you think about it.


Monday, March 9, 2009

Obama vs. Rush Limbaugh


Obama versus Rush Limbaugh

what's the big deal? Rush Limbaugh who is an incredibly popular talkshow host said that he wanted the president to fail. So what? A Fox news poll taken in 2006 indicated that 51% of Democrats wanted President Bush to fail. Now specifically, that poll was about Bush's war policy. What Rush wants to have fail or Obama's economic policies. Note, Bush does not want the US economy to fail. Obviously, since he makes his money from the American economy, it's in his best interest to see that economy succeed. Which is exactly why he has aligned himself against Obama's policies. Obama's policies, if they succeed, will ruin this country. By creating a government that is larger more expensive than ever in the history of our country, our economy will never recover. Our great grandkids will be paying the debts that this administration is incurring. A few years ago Democrats wanted the American military to fail in its mission. Yet if someone considered that to be anti-patriotic, the response was one of shock and surprise and denial and vitriol. Now, when Rush Limbaugh was to protect the US economy, the American left media is defending Obama and attacking Rush Limbaugh. The inconsistency is blatant.

It's both amusing and scary at the same time. The most powerful man in the world, the president of the United States of America, has aligned himself personally against a citizen of his own country. Is that an abuse of power? Perhaps not yet, but this isn't over yet. Rush Limbaugh is really an innocent bystander. He's a businessman. He makes his living by talking about politics and gathers enough of a following of people who agree with him that sponsors are willing to pay money for airtime on his show because they know that his show is reaching millions of people. That doesn't just happen. He has worked really hard to create what he has. He's doing nothing illegal nothing immoral and really nothing anti-patriotic. But the powerful political figure has decided to make it personal. Although he doesn't have the guts to face on a show himself, instead he sends out his lackeys to smear Rush.

It's amusing in the sense that the most powerful man in the world is afraid of a businessman. It's also scary that he would use his resources his influence and his authority to try to bring down one of his own citizens.

When are we as a country going to wake up to the fact that this administration has made huge power grabs in every corner of society. They want to socialize medicine. They want to socialize business. They want to tell us what we can do with energy, what we can do with our money, what we should be doing with our education. An example is the seizing of the census and moving it from a traditional space into under the supervision of a political appointee. That's one of many examples of the power grabs made by this administration that should scare all of us. Ultimately Obama is telling us what we can do with our freedoms, which is kiss them goodbye.


Tuesday, February 24, 2009

BB Gun Recall


The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Air Venturi Air Rifles

Units: About 50

Distributer: Air Venturi, of Bedford Heights, Ohio

Manufacturer: Sam Yang Precision Industrial, of South Korea

Hazard: The safety can fail, causing the rifle to unexpectedly fire. This poses a serious injury hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves model 909S Sam Yang .45 caliber rifles shipped to consumers after July 1, 2008. The rifle is a precharged pneumatic air rifle, powered by compressed air.

Sold by: Air Venturi and Pyramyd Air, Airgun Depot, and Cobra Airguns from July 2008 through September 2008 for about $550.

Manufactured in: South Korea

Remedy: Consumers should stop using these air rifles immediately and contact Air Venturi or Pyramyd Air for a free repair. Shipping boxes and postage will be provided. All known users have been contacted. If you have not received direct communication from Air Venturi or Pyramyd Air, your rifle is not at issue.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Air Venturi or Pyramyd Air collect at (216) 292-2570 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the company’s Web site at www.airventuri.com



Picture of Recalled Air Rifles


Blue Bunny Salmonella Recall


In response to the ongoing investigations of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) and its Texas facility, Wells' Dairy, Inc., is expanding its recall and response to include a recall of select Blue Bunny, Great Value, Hy-Vee, Sysco, Fastco, Shurfresh, and Country Rich ice cream products because they may contain peanuts that have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Website at http://www.cdc.gov.

The expanded product recall includes SELECT PRODUCTS WITH “BEST USED BY” DATES PRIOR TO 2/4/2010 (ALL LOT NUMBERS).

Expanded product listing includes:

Blue Bunny Hot Fudge Sundae original packaged ice cream square paperboard package 1.75 quarts. UPC 70640 05056

Blue Bunny Caramel Lovers Champ Cone 2 Dozen UPC 70640 40075

Blue Bunny Vanilla Champ Cone 2 Dozen UPC 70640 40072

Blue Bunny Big Dipper Vanilla Cone 2 Dozen UPC 70640 40110

Blue Bunny Champ Variety Pack 2 Dozen
Vanilla UPC 70640 40072
Hot Fudge UPC 70640 40073
Caramel Lovers UPC 70640 40075

Blue Bunny Vanilla Nutty Sundae Cone 2 Dozen UPC 70640 63007

Blue Bunny Classic Vanilla Sundae Cone 8-Pack UPC 70640 63023

Blue Bunny Caramel Lovers Champ Cone 6-Pack UPC 70640 40080

Blue Bunny Vanilla Champ Cone 6-Pack UPC 70640 40074

Blue Bunny Champ Cone Variety Pack 6-Pack UPC 70640 40076

Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Vanilla Sundae Cone 6-Pack UPC 70640 63021

Blue Bunny Light Cone Variety Pack 6-Pack UPC 70640 30112

Sysco Cool N' Classy Sundae Cone 2 Dozen UPC 74865 46248

Great Value Nutty Caramel Cone 6-Pack UPC 05388 18855

Great Value Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Sundae Cone 8-Pack UPC 78742 14223

Fastco Vanilla Sundae Cone 6-Pack UPC 21333 99237

Hy-Vee Sundae Cone 6-Pack UPC 75450 06150

Hy-Vee Variety Pack Cone 6-Pack UPC 75450 06151

Shurfresh Sundae Cone 6-Pack UPC 11161 45053

Country Rich Vanilla Cone 6-Pack UPC 70640 30086

The products were sold at retail and foodservice outlets nationwide.

PCA is no longer a supplier of any product for Wells' Dairy.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products should return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund. Anyone requiring more information should contact Wells' Dairy consumer affairs at 1-800-331-0830.


Friday, February 13, 2009

Commuter Flight Crash in Buffalo - Continental 3407


Rate of descent doesn't seem that bad, at least up to the last data point at 5300 feet. Fastest rate of descent was 1100 feet per minute.

Local pilot on the phone right now ... talking about this info.


That height seems about normal, but the speed isn't. A little low.


He's theorizing if it wasn't some sort of major mechanical failure, it may have been a deicing failure. Unfortunately I didn't hear the details explaining how that works.
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Originally Posted by Onix:
Local pilot on the phone right now ... talking about this info.

A commuter flight crashed in Buffalo, NY this morning. Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home killing all on board and 1 on the ground.

Based on reviewing flight data, a local pilot provided the following insights:

"That height seems about normal, but the speed isn't. A little low."


He went on to theorize if it wasn't some sort of major mechanical failure, it may have been a deicing failure. If the deicing system stopped working, then ice would build up on the wing. That could change the shape of the airfoil and then they could have stalled.

The pilots on board called in mechanical difficulties before attempting to land.


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Satellite Collision


A US and a non functioning Russian communications satellite have collided sending out clouds of debris - estimated at 600 sizeable pieces and many thousands if sand size pieces are taken into account.

It sounds as if the debris cloud is high although there is some talk of that particular Irridium satellite being in an low orbit.

The collision was at about 500 miles above Earth, nowhere near the 22,000 miles above Earth where DirecTV's satellites are.


Friday, January 30, 2009

Phish Tickets Available


Phish fans stormed the Internet Friday morning as tickets for the band's first tour in nearly five years went on sale.

Tickets for the first leg of the Vermont-based jam band's summer tour, including venues in Long Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey, were made available through the online ticketing site Live Nation. Though most shows were not reported officially sold out as of 1 p.m. Friday, the Live Nation site displayed intermittent error messages, causing many shut-out fans to vent their frustration on online message boards.

The tour, which kicks off June 4 at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, is a much-anticipated return for the band's loyal fans, who have often drawn comparison to the Grateful Dead's die-hard followers. Like Deadheads before them, "Phish heads" follow the band from show to show and trade concert bootlegs of the band's famously long live sets.

Phish kicks off their 2009 tour with a three-night stretch in March at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia, the venue where their live album "Hampton Comes Alive" was recorded.

A limited amount of tickets for each show are also available starting at midnight on the day of the show, according to the Live Nation site.


Rajendrasinh Mawana - Fannie Mae Virus


URBANA, Md. (AP) - The Justice Department says it foiled a plot by a fired Fannie Mae contract worker in Maryland to destroy all the data on the mortgage giant's 4,000 computer servers nationwide.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 35-year-old Rajendrasinh Makwana, of Glen Allen, Va., is scheduled for arraignment Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on one count of computer intrusion.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein says Makwana was fired Oct. 24.

Rosenstein says that on that day, Makwana programmed a computer with a malicious code that was set to spread throughout the Fannie Mae network and destroy all data this Saturday.
Makwana's federal public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Washington-based Fannie Mae is the largest U.S. mortgage finance company.


Personally, I'm just wondering why Rajendrasinh Mawana wasn't escorted out of the building immediately. Most IT companies I know walk you right out of the building for this very reason.


Jason Varitek News


Varitek has a really huge problem. Boras really messed this one up. I can't see a team giving up a draft pick to sign the guy. If a team did that, that GM should be fired immediately. .

Lets say, Boston pulls off a trade for Montero or Salty then they no longer need Varitek. What happens then? Is it possible for a team to sign Varitek after a certain date and still not give up a draft pick?

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Mariners are considering him "to improve the Seattle pitching staff." That could be a riot.


NRG Global - Sysload


Just wondering which was the simplest, easy to install monitoring tool around. SNMP, MOM, Nagios, Red Point, HP Openview, BMC Patrol, BigBrother, BigSister, MRTG, BMC, EHealth, NetIQ?

Have you tried Sysload? www.nrgglobal.com It is said to be one of the most useful with minimal clutter. Has anyone tried the demo?


Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wii Fit Guide - A Tutorial for Cheats and Weight Loss


There's a new Wii Fit guide available for download. This tutorial walks through every game and tells how to unlock each game, tips for success on each game and exercise, how to avoid injury, and more.

It reveals all the secret jogging trails.

It does contain all the cheats, like how to earn 'time' coins in the Fit Bank super quickly and how to beat some of the harder balance games.

But the Wii Fit Tutorial also comes with something that I'm surprised isn't included with the Wii Fit itself: a workout routine. It tells you exactly which exercises to do, how long to do them, in what order, and on what days. It gives you a well-rounded routine which covers all muscle groups, and by following it you can avoid the soreness that happens when you overwork a single muscle group.


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

NYKO Wand - Wii Remote Replacement


NYKO is the first to create a Wii-compatible wand to replace the Wii Remote.

The NYKO Wand is fully compatible with Wii, and can do everything the Wiimote can. They are also configurable...something the Wii-mote is missing.

Wand
Wireless Motion Sensing One-Handed Controller for Wii™ With Trans-Port™ Technology

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Experience new levels and immersion and innovation with Nyko’s Wand for Nintendo® Wii™. The Wand allows for complete control of all compatible Wii software and menus and features full motion control support, vibration feedback, and built-in speaker. With the Wand in your hand, you’ll have total control of all your Wii software as well as a rubberized B-Trigger, larger 1 and 2 buttons and an improved and re-worked d-pad for more comfortable and accurate classic and horizontal game play. Expand your control possibilities with Nyko’s Trans-Port Technologies, exclusively developed for the Wand. Trans-Port Technology allows specially designed attachments to pass through key buttons to the attachment, allowing for more responsive attachments that can easily integrate with your Wand controller for a variety of games.

Wand Features Trans-Port Technology
Relocate key buttons through specially designed accessories and attachments for better more immersive control
Wand Features Custom Design
Enlarged and highly responsive buttons allow for more accurate and comfortable game play while a rubber grip insures a better hold of the remote
Wand Features Wireless
Bluetooth technology allows for wireless play up to 20 feet away from the console
Wand Features Fully Compatible
Full motion control and pointer functionality provide full support for all Wii software and menus

Wand Features

Full compatibility with all Wii Software
Trans-Port Technology allows for use of custom shells and accessories
Accelerometer for full motion control game play
CMOS camera for pointer/cursor functionality
Play wirelessly up to 20 feet away from the console
Enlarged buttons and re-designed d-pad allow for convenient horizontal play
Powerful speaker provides instant audio feedback
Full rumble support
Unique aesthetic design
Rubberized battery cover for optimal grip


One of the coolest things, in my opinion, is the fact that the NYKO Wand is rubberized. Why Nintendo decided to make the controls so slippery for a game that's designed to make you sweat.