The Bigs

I bought The Bigs this weekend and I'm hooked.

It took a bit of getting used but the the game really gets the Wii controllers. The pitching element of the game is what really makes it for me. You have to use a combo of pressing buttons and twisting your wrist while going through a pitching motion. (The key I've found is to twist at the beginning of your swing) Additionally there are incentives for not doing the same pitches over and over again. Controlling the fielders took a little to get used to, but again once you the hang of it is pretty intuitive.

Batting took a bit to get used to as well I really recommend trying it in practice mode a lot until you get a feel for the swing. The power hitting mode is a bit cheesy and can really throw the game, but in general I like the concept.

Overall The Bigs is a big hit and I'll have to take a break from playing until after I pitch for my kickball game as I could barely move my left arm on Monday after playing way to many innings on Saturday and Sunday.

GOP Senator Pleaded Guilty After Restroom Arrest

All I know is that if a Republican representative or senator approaches me in a bathroom, I'm yelling fire and running away.

You Can't Bring Me Down

Shearer told E&P that WPWG checked with a couple of Islamic experts to see if the "Opus" strips might be offensive, and they said the comics were OK

To quote Suicidal Tendencies from "You Can't Bring Me Down"

And if I offended you, oh I'm sorry...
But maybe you need to be offended
But here's my apology and one more thing...fuck you!

'cause you...can't...bring...me...down!

Clooney Quote

With the previous post about the fade of Taylor Hicks I checked out Clooney's wikipedia entry I found the following quote.

""Run for office? No. I've slept with too many women, I've done too many drugs, and I've been to too many parties."

Gotta respect that.

Favorite Facebook Group of Which I Am a Member

WISCONSIN: OUT DRINKIN' YOUR STATE SINCE 1848!

Fuck Ben Stein

Oh, and putting Ben Stein in short pants and playing "Bad to the Bone" does not make him a rebel. He's a Republican apologist, and he's not "cool" at all.

Ben Stein supports intelligent design, how sad.

Natasha at Erin Rose

natasha the beauty
Originally uploaded by thosalumpagus

Natasha got some much deserved credit for her work at Erin Rose. Natasha at Erin Rose

News Round Up

First things first:
"I think those high school kids shouldn't have been on his property," Lynch said. "But in this country, life is valued over property, and if someone is fleeing your property or on your property but not threatening you, you're not allowed to just shoot them."
Actually that isn't true in Texas and Florida I'm almost certain they have shoot first ask questions last laws to protect people like Davis in those states. [1]

Secondly:
White also said he didn't understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable.
Um, will people stop comparing dog fighting to killing animals for food, last I checked they don't have cattle fights and then kill the losers through random cruel ways.

Lastly and most sadly:
Boy, 5, doused in gas, set on fire by masked men
Some hideously cruel people, were disgustingly mean to a five year old boy. This level of evil is just wrong, but what really gets me is this quote from his mother.
----
"He's become spiteful, I am not sure why," said his mother, Zainab. "He is jealous of everyone. If I say the slightest thing to him, he cries. He's sensitive."
----
Really, mom? The kid was fucking SET ON FIRE that is more than enough reason to be spiteful, if not just generally malevolent.

Vindication the Nightmare is Over

So after nearly two years of hearing "Did anyone ever tell you, you look like Taylor Hicks?" the curse is finally over. When biking today a stranger on the street said "Hey George Clooney do you want to race?"

See this post

Finally Nice Weather

Finally a morning when you can walk to the coffee shop and walk back with hot coffee and not breakout in a sweat! Yay! Fall.

Java Developer

Dear Loyal Readers,

Your host as recently learned that his current contract will be ending shortly and as such is seeking new work. If you know anyone looking for an experienced J2EE developer, with strong database skills, who is polished enough to put in front of clients please let me know.

later,
DC Dan

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Thank you Barbara for breaking it down

When, for example, the largest private employer in America, which is Wal-Mart, starts experiencing a shortage of customers, it needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror. About a century ago, Henry Ford realized that his company would only prosper if his own workers earned enough to buy Fords. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, never seemed to figure out that its cruelly low wages would eventually curtail its own growth, even at the company’s famously discounted prices.

Nutcracker

Now, I'm not a huge Hillary Clinton fan, but how the right wing feels when there is a strong, powerful woman in power, they obviously make her out to be a "nut cracker"
Which leads to the following conjecture. The right wing sees a woman in power as threat to their masculinity, she is a threat because the right wing is insecure about their masculinity, the reason they are insecure about it is because they have reason to be, the reason being they suffer from male penis envy.

You've heard it here first ladies, friends don't let friends fuck the right wing, unless you want them to wake up unsatisfied with a nauseous, dirty feeling (and that's not the good kind of dirty)

Don't believe me? Don't think this doesn't apply to both sexes? The best looking the right has to offer is Ann Coulter, who at best looks like a transvestite who in a drunken stupor late night in Vegas you may confuse for a woman until you see her adam's apple or her face.

Mail Delay

My hosting companies mail servers have been under attack and so emails are taking a long ass time to get to me, if it is urgent txt, IM or call.

Update: Long ass time is about 9 hours, fucking spammers suck.

Update: Back to normal, carry on as if nothing happened

Cross Australia Off List of Countries to Move to or Visit

Australia to spend $189 million on anti-porn tech initiative

Really countries that ban porn are foolish.
One can always make their own. Two you won't be able to effectively ban it. Three porn drives Internet innovation, think about it, payment over the web, image and movie compression and streaming video all were pretty much advanced by the porn industry. Fourth, I have still yet to have anyone show evidence that porn is actually harmful.

sigh

ILife '08 and Flickr Export

ILife '08 and Flickr Export don't seem to play nice together on my install the export dialog doesn't show up :-(

Update: w00t!, already fixed good job connected flow!

Safely Disrupted.

WTF is "safely disrupted" and why is it used twice in this press release?

I wish though that they would have safely disrupted the people on the Red Line with a water cannon, that would have been entertaining.

R.I.P.

Next time you drink a 40 oz and you pour out a sip to remember your fallen friends also think about the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution which a bunch of spineless pussies in the Capitol laid to rest by writing a law that clearly, clearly, clearly violates the 4th
“ The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. ”

Current Guilty Pleasures

"Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado (buy now)

"Tears Dry on Their Own" by Amy Winehouse (buy now)

"Stronger" by Kanye West (buy now)


There now that my confession is off my chest maybe I'll feel better by admitting my non-guilty pleasure the new Common CD

Wow, just wow

Welcome to Christian Domestic Discipline
Loving Wife Spanking in a Christian Marriage

Wow, I'm truly speechless. From the site:
"Though we believe the Bible gives a husband the authority to use spanking as one tool in enforcing his authority in the home with or without his wife's permission"

How Religion Fucks with Me

I've heard people say, so what if people want to believe in God how do their thoughts affect you. To these people I say the following, when religious people are allowed to be allowed anywhere near the Congress or science.
Here are some of the effects of "faithful"

• When you try to buy liquor on Sunday. - This comes from the Puritans who wanted people to be in church. (1)


• When you want stem cell research to be funded. - This is because people who don't understand the science of stem cell creation cede to storybooks claim this is when the "soul" enters the embryo. Perhaps if someone can show some scientific evidence of the presence of soul by this point they could have a case. (1)


• When you want to teach the science of Evolution. - My favorite one I hear about this is "I didn't come from goo" when referencing the early stages of the evolution of life. My response is have you ever seen semen? You came from goo just like that. (1, 2)


• When you want to enjoy porn. - Just because you don't want to watch "Girls Who Love Girls" doesn't mean I don't want to. This is additionally done for the "sake of the children" from the American Family Ass. letter (and the thing that prompted this rant) "Nine out of ten of 8-16 year-olds have viewed pornography online" To which I say that if 90% of kids 8-16 have seen porn why hasn't there been a major fallout? Why aren't almost all of kids that age running around with hairy palms and blind? I'll have a link to the American Family Ass. as soon as they put it up.


• When you want to hear people swearing - To me swearing is a First Amendment right, just because you don't want to hear something doesn't mean it should be banned from the airwaves. Also has there been any evidence that kids that hear "curse words" are actually damaged?(1, 2)


• When you want children to learn to about the truths of sexuality. The Religious right wants to teach only abstinence only sex and not properly educate the youth about sex. This is incredibly negligent and would actually prevent abortions as if you can prevent getting pregnant you aren't a candidate for abortion, plus abstinence only doesn't seem to work (1)


• When you want to prevent the spread of deadly diseases. There are those of faith that don't believe that condoms should be distributed by missionaries in Africa, where AIDS is an epidemic, because of their dogmatic ban on contraception. The second case of this and this one is really disturbing. A vaccine has been developed that can prevent HPV, a virus that is associated with cervical cancer, the vaccine doesn't appear to have any real side effects and can used on children and it is only $360. You'd think it is a no brainer right? Well the religious right fights against vaccinating young girls because they feel it may encourage them to have sex! This should really be a no brainer, you have a vaccine that is low risk incredibly effective can prevent cancer and the biggest concern it that it encourages women to have sex, where is the downside to that?!?!?! (1,2, 3)

And this isn't even close to a comprehensive list.

If You Don't Give Us Power We'll Take It

Regarding my post on the lack of openness on the Helio Ocean I came across this today Opera Mini for everybody! Custom apps! Yay!

So to summarize this for the decision makers at Helio, this group of people took the time to figure out how to run applications on your phone without any help from you. Can you imagine what they could pull off if you encouraged them to develop for the Ocean?

Missy Elliott Day

FYI I officially declare tomorrow Missy Elliott today.

Why Some Phone are Loved by Nerds or:

Why Some Phone are Loved by Nerds or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Open platforms.

As most people know I'm a phone nerd, ever since I spent a year doing wireless research for a government agency several years back, I've been pretty in touch with the whole wireless scene and have a good idea of what's going on. From doing all of this research I've been a huge fan of Sony Ericsson and Nokia and for the last five years I've exclusively used their phones. One of the best features for these phone is that YOU can easily get FREE development environments for their phones and they have detailed specs and white papers, they want you to make apps for their phones. This also applies to Windows Mobile and Motorola but I don't really use them so I can't comment.

A few months ago I broke ranks and bought a Helio Ocean. It has some cool features and the service plans are reasonable, but it main weakness is the lack of apps. When I say lack of apps, I mean a real shortage. If they exist I can't find them and I'm not just talking about apps for the phone I'm putting the computer side down as well. I knew going in that I wouldn't be able to sync with my Mac, but I was okay with that. but what I did think would work was syncing via XP in Parallels, but there doesn't appear to an app to do it, I installed what was on their site but it doesn't seem to do anything except for recognize the phone as mass storage device. Which doesn't really do shit because dropping mp3's and movies to the folders doesn't work either. So on a whim, I tried http://developer.helio.com there is a site, but you have to be approved to develop for them. So I wrote the email address asking for an invite as my current employer develops mobile apps hoping to get an invite.

The response made it clear as to why there aren't many apps for the Ocean. To get access to the site, I'd need to do the following. One pitch them my application idea. They'd have to approve the concept internally and then I'd have to sign an NDA to just to get access to the tool kit from which point I could then figure out if we even have the ability/desire to write these apps. That is an awful lot of hoops to make one jump through for people to write apps that will help sell THEIR phone and THEIR service. I think it is a bad decision overall and will hurt them in the long run, because the keyboard makes a lot of apps very attractive. Think ssh, vnc, an Opera browser and integrated IM client the list goes on.

Sigh