the future is so freaking cool

I have always been a huge tech nerd - well, a nerd in all respects, but I especially geek out about new tech - and I am especially, pants-wettingly excited about the fact that we have now reached a point in technological history where the game is completely changing. Laptops are finally doing what I've wanted them to do for years: Get smaller, simpler, and - most importantly - cheaper.

Manufacturers are realizing that most laptop users are not power users. The average laptop user is not editing audio or video, or playing CPU-intensive video games. The average user is checking their email, taking notes, watching YouTube videos, playing flash-based online games, blogging, checking facebook & twitter, and listening to music. What all of these things have in common is that none of them requires cutting-edge computing technology. None of them requires a super-fast CPU or large amounts of RAM. The only thing that is really needed is decent, integrated WiFi.

So, in this amazing age, you can buy a laptop for $180! To me, that is nuts. It is truly a beautiful thing. Now, if you had a simple, stripped-down netbook like that, you wouldn't in a million years want to run a full-featured operating system - nor could you if you tried - and if you're anything like me, you prefer your technology, and especially your software, to be streamlined, minimalistic, easy on the eyes, and optimized to use as little of your resources as possible. Enter, stage left, such intriguing ventures such as the creation of the JoliCloud OS.

Click that link. No, it's ok, I'll wait. Go check it out.

Ok, now that you've been dazzled by the sleek look of it, click on the "Our Idea" link, and then the "First Look" link. It is absolutely dazzling.

Proof, yet again, that you don't have to have a Mac to have a laptop that's simple, sleek, and easy to use. Nor do you have to buy a laptop that costs as much as Mac either. For the casual user, the world of computing just got a whole hell of a lot cheaper.

Only YOU Can Prevent Thought Crime

When you know that the favorite rhetorical tool for criticizing politics is making comparisons to George Orwell's "1984," you'd think that you would go out of your way to avoid doing overtly Orwellian things. But not our fearless leader. Not, as my brother calls him, The Manchurian Messiah. Yeah, Barry O has made it clear that he doesn't give a damn just how much he makes himself look like Big Brother.

Two days ago, the Whitehouse posted to its blog stating, basically, that President Obama was disturbed by the abundance of information and opinions that were being shared about his intended health care travesty. He warned that "Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet" about it. If you ignored the fact that it is scary, I guess there might be something wrong with the emails. However, even if the emails are denying the holocaust or telling me that electricity doesn't exist, Barry's prescribed course of action is downright terrifying, and straight from the pages of Orwell:

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

Are. You. Serious.

So, to recap, if our friends say something that isn't directly from the teleprompter notes of one of Obama's slippery, fact-avoiding speeches, you are to report them directly to the Whitehorse. I mean, at least with the Patriot Act, which I also despise, it's people you already distrust spying on you. Now, our Big Brother in Chief is promoting an atmosphere in which no one can feel comfortable engaging in discourse in which they disagree with or question their government. Yeah, that sounds conducive to liberty.

I mean, I see no way to spin this in a positive light. No way whatsoever. And, since I fully suspect some goofbag in a "Hope" t-shirt with a copy of "The Audacity of Hope" tucked under his arm to report this to the Thought Police, let me just say something directly to the Führer himself: Eff you and your gestapo tactics. Shame on you for emulating the tactics of this past century's biggest despots and douchebags.

Not to mention the fact that the President's blog post skirts around real issues, and only criticizes the straw dummies that it creates. The biggest of which is this. The blog post goes out of its way to state that:

"For the record, the President has consistently said that if you like your insurance plan, your doctor, or both, you will be able to keep them. He has even proposed eight consumer protections relating specifically to the health insurance industry."

However, one of the biggest problem with the wording of his plan are the potential provisions made to keep people from signing up for new private plans. The Whitehouse has carefully worded this post to avoid even addressing that concern.

The president's rhetorical methodology seems to be this:

1. Find out what the actual thing that you're doing is that's pissing people off.
2. Accuse people of claiming something else.
3. Prove that what you accused them of saying is false.

That's great. Absolutely great. I can't believe this is happening in my own country. What the hell.

Tweet Week 2.0

Ok, so it has been brought to my attention by my lovely wife that Tweet Week has become to all-inclusive of my tweets. She's right. From now on, I will have an absolute maximum of 15 tweets in an episode of Tweet Week. To kick it off, I will re-do the most recent episode:

[Ok, so I break my new rule right away, but keep in mind that this is like 3 weeks worth of tweets. I will religiously adhere to my new, self-imposed rule on all subsequent Tweet Weeks.]

• Dear Coke Zero, I heart you. Love, Jake.
• We can't stop here. This is bat country!
• I love 1:30am excursions with friends that result in soda pop. I like them when they don't result in soda pop too, but it's an added bonus.
• I've got to be one of the only people on earth who has cut his NOSTRIL whilst shaving. It stung like a mother too.
• I grow weary of hearing my fellow twentysomethings prematurely talk and think like crotchety old folks. The stone age is not an ideal, folks
• Emily and I just whispered "oh, snap" at the exaxct same time during Sunday school but the effect of simultaneity amplified it a LOT.
• At Monday's recording session: http://twitpic.com/7qkf5
• Now, this isn't just because she was in Carrie, but Sissy Spacek is CREEPY looking.
• From a recording session I played on, Monday night for @shellyraine http://twitgoo.com/u5g3
• 12 cop cars now. And they've searched the mexican gangsters' Escalade.http://twitgoo.com/sqr9
• So it's 10+ cars and one arrest now. http://yfrog.us/0n7vvz
• Okay, it's now FIVE cop cars, 8 cops and 4 drawn guns outside my apartment.
• I want to punch every guy wearing a neon colored v-neck t-shirt directly in the freaking throat. Stupid effing hipsters.
• I don't care if you played for Frank Zappa. Screw you, Terry Bozzio. You're a big, stupid tool.
• So apparently, Juice 'n Java on 1st north is like THE hipster den. The outside area was thick with self-important people with bad hygiene.
• So, we go from studying fugue to studying the blues, and suddenly I'm in my top academic from. Imagine that.
• Why must every crazy vagrant who has ever ridden the bus make it a point to talk to me? I don't care that you used to be in a band, dude.
• I hate studying fugue. Hate it with a passion.
• It's called courtesy flush, people. Once it hits the water, flush. It's okay to flush more than once in a poop session. Geez.
• What kind of dick pisses all over the toilet seat??? Oh wow, that was an unintended pun... but it made more sense than calling him an a-hole.
• I always start grinning when somebody says something reminds them of me, because it usually means they're about to say something bizarre.
• My birthday is in August. Feel free to buy me presents: http://bit.ly/12CDzt
• Grr, tricksy Facebook quizzes. One of the quizzes was titled "Friend for Life" so when you try to block it it says "Block friend for life?"
• Spring term is weird. I'm never sure what day of the week it is... Well, let's be honest. I never know what day of the week it is.

Tweet Week (6-26-09)

Man oh man, I have been forgetful with Tweek Week! Ok, I'll get everyone up to speed:

(As always, this reads from newest at the top, to oldest at the bottom.)

• Dear Coke Zero, I heart you. Love, Jake.
• I am really just kind of enjoying sophomoric humor today: http://bit.ly/GxxDI fart music by @drewtoothpaste
• I've been heartily enjoying hilarious Billy Mays commercials overdubbed w/ literal descriptions laced with curse words: http://bit.ly/sNDWk
• Billy Mays, keepin' St. Peter's robes extra white with the whitening powers of OXY CLEAN!
• Is it wrong that I have a mild crush on the Nerd Queen, Olivia Munn? I just wish my cable provider carried the G4 channel.
• We can't stop here. This is bat country!
• This is the worst thing ever done. Ever: http://bit.ly/xQ29P
• I remember watching Captain EO at Disney Land when I was about 11 years old. In 3-D: http://digg.com/d1usyD?t So hilariously corny.
• I love 1:30am excursions with friends that result in soda pop. I like them when they don't result in soda pop too, but it's an added bonus.
• Wow. This Back to the Future analysis is one of the funniest things I've read in a long while: http://bit.ly/pSb22 (Warning: Crude Language)
• Ok, so it's all a hoax and it's all DEMI MOORE'S (@mrskutcher) fault!! http://bit.ly/yzK5r
• Okokokokokok, who is ACTUALLY dead? Is Jeff Goldblum really dead? And I just heard Harrison Ford. WTF. They can't all be true... Can they?
• NO WAY! Jeff Goldblum too??!?!?! http://bit.ly/XvCJy
• Weirdest. Computer. Ever. http://bit.ly/DLVtd
• Wait so is Michael Jackson dead or in a coma. TMZ says dead, but another report says coma. .... wait, why do i care??!
• My good buddy @jasinskiArt hipped me to these hilarious bumper stickers: http://bit.ly/trbyC
• I've got to be one of the only people on earth who has cut his NOSTRIL whilst shaving. It stung like a mother too.
• I grow weary of hearing my fellow twentysomethings prematurely talk and think like crotchety old folks. The stone age is not an ideal, folks
• Remember summer book lists and trips to the library when you were a kid? I'm bringing them (and sexy) back: http://bit.ly/16Ezzu
• http://bit.ly/19tZtn Don't you wish you had an Android Phone? Yeah. You do.
• OMG! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA: http://bit.ly/PcLbG
• A hilarious flowchart for laptop owners: http://is.gd/1cgbk
• Triumph FTW: http://bit.ly/cnL3C
• R.I.P. Ed McMahon. Hi-oooooooo, heaven!
• OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG: http://bit.ly/11hU8N I can't wait!!!!!!
• WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SQUEALING FANBELT SOUND OUTSIDE! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
• Will facebook PLEASE implement a "block ALL quizzes" option? PLEASE?!?!
• Emily and I just whispered "oh, snap" at the exaxct same time during Sunday school but the effect of simultaneity amplified it a LOT.
• Rented "Enemy Mine" from 1985. Good times. Loved this movie when I was a kid.
• Hahahahahaha! Within 2 hours of saying that I thought the Zune HD was cool, @microsoftzunehd started following me on Twitter. Yay for bots!
• I hate Microsoft and the whole Zune franchise but I'm gonna be honest. The Zune HD seems really badass: http://www.engadget.com/tag/ZuneHd/
• So apparently if you talk crap about Terry Bozzio YouTube comment, the WOLVES COME OUT: http://bit.ly/Xq1Jo Search the screen for "geekisthenewcool"
• http://bit.ly/6j31g The sheer dubiousness of this infuriates me but hey, at least they've made good decision lately: http://bit.ly/U7HKC
• Had a Blockbuster giftcard so we picked up Dark Knight and the amazing There Will Be Blood.
• A very fascinating documentary YouTube once banned for its unpopular conclusions: http://bit.ly/CUTP5
• At Monday's recording session: http://twitpic.com/7qkf5
• Now, this isn't just because she was in Carrie, but Sissy Spacek is CREEPY looking.
• From a recording session I played on, Monday night for @shellyraine http://twitgoo.com/u5g3
• Dear Canker Sore in the back of my mouth, You're not fun anymore. You were never fun. Please leave. I have guests coming over. Love, Jake
• They're remaking RED DAWN??? http://bit.ly/bjOdM
• For my friends who want to try their hand with music editing but don't want to buy software: http://is.gd/13g7G
• This is really really weird. How did I not know about this? http://is.gd/13fbP
• This story always makes me laugh my lungs out my nose (NSFW): http://bit.ly/LB8yk
• 12 cop cars now. And they've searched the mexican gangsters' Escalade. http://twitgoo.com/sqr9
• So it's 10+ cars and one arrest now. http://yfrog.us/0n7vvz
• Actually, it's 10+ cop cars, and one actual arrest. http://yfrog.us/0wugzz
• Okay, it's now FIVE cop cars, 8 cops and 4 drawn guns outside my apartment.
• And the end result. http://twitgoo.com/sq3a
• Emily's making stuffed peppers & had me make my "cheesy 'mexican' rice" for them, originally invented b/c we were poor. http://twitgoo.com/sprk
• So I've decided that I need a melodica. Peep the wish list: http://bit.ly/12CDzt
• Two of my loves combined: http://digg.com/d1V1FR?t
• I want to punch every guy wearing a neon colored v-neck t-shirt directly in the freaking throat. Stupid effing hipsters.
• Just saw two movies in the theater in one day. That's a first for me. Star Trek was a bar-setter I think, & Sunshine Cleaning was decent.
• Gonna go see me some Star Trek with Wifey.... right now.
• I don't care if you played for Frank Zappa. Screw you, Terry Bozzio. You're a big, stupid tool.
• So apparently, Juice 'n Java on 1st north is like THE hipster den. The outside area was thick with self-important people with bad hygiene.
• Shame on you, Dave Letterman. You were my favorite late night guy for years, but now in addition to phoning it in you're just mean-spirited.
• Today on "Sandwiches a la Jake" we have tuna melt with celery seed, onion powder, corriander, dill, & avocados with cheddar cheese. Mmmmmmm.
• So, we go from studying fugue to studying the blues, and suddenly I'm in my top academic from. Imagine that.
• Why must every crazy vagrant who has ever ridden the bus make it a point to talk to me? I don't care that you used to be in a band, dude.
• http://twitpic.com/6zicf - I love it when Emily gets to babysit Oliver. He's so cute!
• Man oh man, Google Android is takin' over this biznatch. Don't step unless you wanna get jacked, esse.
• I want to cry. It looks like I'm stuck with crappy ol' Comcast. Why must you reject me, Broadweave??
• I hate studying fugue. Hate it with a passion.
• It's called courtesy flush, people. Once it hits the water, flush. It's okay to flush more than once in a poop session. Geez.
• What kind of dick pisses all over the toilet seat??? Oh wow, that was an unintended pun... but it made more sense than calling him an a-hole
• http://twitpic.com/6ocoy - Written at the bottom of the analysis section of an exam I took.
• My give-a-damn-o-meter is running out quickly as I get more and more sleepy.
• For the last time, I DO NOT LOOK LIKE THIS PERSON: http://bit.ly/7LPDk
• I had never heard of this till xkcd mentioned it. This is absolutely fascinating: http://bit.ly/4VTLM
• http://twitpic.com/6nml4 - Scrambled eggs with green onions, pico de gallo, and an italian 3-cheese blend are delicious, but probably nor healthy at midnight.
• I always start grinning when somebody says something reminds them of me, because it usually means they're about to say something bizarre.
• Man oh man. Portal has got to be the funnest video game ever made.
• Mind. Blown. VR is all but here: http://gizmodo.com/5277954
• *Whew!* I had 20 notifications of Facebook and was concerned that maybe I'd said something offensively commonsensical again.
• Attention Provo-ites. This may be the funniest blog you will ever read: http://bit.ly/b0coO
• Whoah. Canada just got a lot cooler in my eyes: http://www.torontozombiewalk.ca
• Mexican TV is so bizarre. There's a guy dressed up as a rodeo clown, looking very serious, singing while mostly-naked women dance. WTF?
• I am involved in a handful of secret projects. Sorry, all I can tell you is that they're ALL AWESOME.
• My birthday is in August. Feel free to buy me presents: http://bit.ly/12CDzt
• R.I.P Truman G. Madsen. A brilliant philosopher and theologian. We'll miss you!
• Today was a great day. I love meeting/kicking it with creative, intelligent people.
• Joshua Redman is probably my favorite sax player of all time.
• I know this is completely dorky, but I'm totally gonna do this: http://bit.ly/Mdys
• Grr, tricksy Facebook quizzes. One of the quizzes was titled "Friend for Life" so when you try to block it it says "Block friend for life?"
• Spring term is weird. I'm never sure what day of the week it is... Well, let's be honest. I never know what day of the week it is.
• I just heard the bell tower playing the Tetris theme. Awesome.

i have problems with dedication :(

I've already violated the promise I made in my last post. I went to the library to try to check out A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but it was checked out, so I had to put on a hold. Then I tried The Road and the same thing happened. So what was I left to do? Well, I ended up checking out Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Song of Susannah, book VI in the infamous Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I've read it before, but hey, it's fantastic.

Then, as if to incriminate me, I got an email today notifiying me that The Road was available and being held for me. I've got my reading cut out for me. :)

Summer Book List 2009

Over a year ago, I set out to recreate a part of my childhood that I held dear: summer book lists. I only read 2 out of the intended 4 books, but in my defense, the books I did finish were Atlas Shrugged - weighing in at over 1,000 pages - and a theological book which I was writing a review of for my university's academic journal (it should be out in the fall issue of BYU Studies! keep an eye out!). Anyway, this summer, I'm going to try again, but this time, I'm going to tackle smaller books and books that I know that I can get through before Fall semester. I've even already read one, and I'm partway through another.

I finished reading Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" last week and I have a hard time describing my experience with it. To be clear, I loved it, but my emotions while reading it were so confusing. I had loved the movie and upon reading the book, I saw just how well the movie captured the spirit of the book. As most book readers tend to do with books made into movies, I liked the book better, but due to of the limitations of the film medium only, and not the film makers. You can't have as many monologues as a book does in a movie. It'd be corny. [For the record though, Tommy Lee Jones absolutely was Sheriff Bell. Nobody could have played that role any better.] Cormac McCarthy is very much an Existentialist in his themes and narrative, and is a minimalist in his prose. He achieves maximum effect with minimum words, and does so like a true artist. Existentialists often strike a chord with me, but this book affected me in a profound way. When I finished the book, even though I already knew the ending (from the movie), I felt like crying. And to be honest, I couldn't tell you why. In the end, it is a very moving book, and I recommend it to anyone.

I'm currently in and out of reading House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It's kind of terrifying and intense, so I have to take it in small doses, but I like it so far. This will probably take me all summer.

Other Books for the Summer:

• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers. I've heard nothing but good stuff about this book from everyone I know who's read it, and I need to read more non-fiction books that aren't philosophy books or textbooks.
• The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Since I adored both the book and film versions of "No Country for Old Men," and since The Road is being made into a movie (starring Viggo Mortensen!), I really want to read this book.
• The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James. I've already read this book, and loved it with all my heart, but I wanted to try it on for size with a few years under my belt since my last read-through.

That's all I'm going to put on myself. I may read more, but this is all I'm going to propose to undertake at this time, and I won't add any more books to the list until I've read all of the ones that are already on it. I'm going to be disciplined here. I swear.

Tweet Week (5-28-09)

In order from most recent to least recent:

On the walk home, I witnessed two birds having an argument, not a fight but an argument, about the worm one of them was eating. Hilarious.

Independent of his politics, does anybody else (independent of THEIR politics) feel like our president doesn't act very.... president-y?

Out of nowhere, my wife starts going, "booty booty booty booty rockin' everywhere! rockin' everywhere! rockin' everywhere!"

"If success feels like being drunk & high & also riding a ridiculous polygon stilt-bike, I’ve been feeling really successful lately.” –LATFH

I'm pleased to announce that the flip-flop tan is back in FULL effect.

My geocaching trip today: http://twitpic.com/5ydr4

http://twitpic.com/5y9zl - Geocache #3. We could see where it PROBABLY was, but the mosquitos had COVERED my body and I freaked out. http://tinyurl.com/pocme3

http://twitpic.com/5y7xy - Geocache #2: Totally found it. It was in a fake sprinkler head. http://bit.ly/1a4GTg

Geocache #1. Found nothing. Sad times. http://tinyurl.com/ooqtq3

Going geocaching for the first time! This is already fun. I feel like Indiana Jones.

This is exactly how I felt about pep rallies in high school, and their college equivalents now: http://xkcd.com/588/

I finally got my hands on Android Cupcake.... it is delicious. #cupcake

FINALLY! http://tcrn.ch/2Up

One of my favorite hobbies: telling my wife that things she does aren't "ladylike."

Conducting hymns is not my favorite thing in the world.

DECLARATION: I've had it. I'm done. Forget this crap. In one year, I'm leaving Facebook. Join twitter by then or fade into my life's history.

It makes me sad to see pretty girls become ugly-ass hippies because they feel the need to prove something. Hippette, it's okay to be pretty.

http://twitpic.com/5t9jw - A question while applying for a part-time retail job in Orem, UT.

The trailer for the G.I Joe movie makes me sad because there's no way it could possibly be good.

Just read this:"It's art if can't be explained. It's fashion if no one asks for an explanation. It's design if it doesn't need explanation."

I don't know if it's possible for me to be any more head-over-heels in love with music than I am.

http://twitpic.com/5shx5 - Is it clear from this picture what my biggest vice is? ... I have a problem.

And people don't think the robot revolution will happen any time soon.... http://gizmodo.com/5265901 This is creepy.

"In Scotland, we didn't know that Scotty (from Star Trek) was supposed to be Scottish. I thought he was a Pakistani guy who'd had a stroke." - Craig Ferguson

To all my hipster-leaning friends out there: http://bit.ly/19XrBk

http://twitpic.com/5qafh - The provo "castle" isn't so much a castle as it is a series of walls. L: http://tinyurl.com/r4h3pc

Ah, nothing like a little Cumin to make anything taste a bit like tacos.

At the bus stop today a crazy CREEPY guy with a porno moustache asked if I was Irish started jabbering & eventually asked for cash.

http://twitpic.com/5ph38 - Yay for Skullcandy's return policy!

I'm starting to appreciate Beethoven for pretty much the first time.

http://twitpic.com/5pcie - Big brother doesn't need telescreens. He just uses his magical rhetoric machine to control us with guilt!

Hahaha, I just became temporarily popular by sharing cheap, bulk candy with my classmates.

HAHAHAHAHA: http://bit.ly/1afCP7

Ooh, ooh! Google Chrome has fullscreen mode now! Now I'm seriously never going back.

Does anybody have a thumb-trackball style mouse that they'd like to trade for my wireless mouse? I'm serious.

I seem to prefer to consume media whilst I consume calories. The calories alone are not as entertaining.

Ramen is a lot more tolerable when you add a buttload of spices to it. This batch: hot sauce, mesquite seasoning, oregano, garlic and curry.

I think my left eye has swine flu.

I just learned the hard way that a CPU fan has enough speed and torque to give a thumb a puncture wound. Yowch.

I am loving "Machines Behaving Deadly" Week over at Gizmodo.com: http://bit.ly/P5fJF #Robots #skynet #terminator

It warms my heart that there are people out there nerdy enough to write something like this: http://bit.ly/K3CN7 (I'm jealous I didn't!)

I am perplexed. Any of my computer nerd friends able to help me with this? http://bit.ly/ZknqM

"Republicans need libertarians more than libertarians need Republicans." http://bit.ly/11PuqR

My professor just quoted his brother, referring to Yanni's music as "sonic wallpaper." Hahahahaha.

Just a reminder: I posted some free mp3's on my blog of a hip-hop project I did back in 04-05. Come and get it! http://bit.ly/JXdHr

I don't understand why everyone cites Hitler as an example of the extreme RIGHT-wing. Have we forgotten that he was an avowed SOCIALIST?

To Provo Employers: You stupid retards. You don't ask for a 3-year commitment IN AN EFFING COLLEGE TOWN. You have forgotten THIS IS PROVO.

I stepped on something crunchy and thought it was a snail, but when I looked back, it wasn't a snail. It was a dead bird. Skull crushed.

"Exit Music" by Radiohead always makes me break out in the spooky kind of goosebumps when it gets to the bridge. "you can laugh........"

@Joeusrey dude, i will hate you forever if you become a damned hipster. don't you DARE.

Can I just say that nothing makes me laugh harder than Kool Keith's raps?

http://twitpic.com/5c6d2 - Bag of vinegar. Cleaning the hard water out of the shower head. Rigging this was terrifying.

http://twitpic.com/5baag - If you get why this is funny, you're a geek, but if you get it, you're probably pooping your pants laughing.

http://twitpic.com/59xw0 - Saw this the other day. Blew my mind. A caffeinated BUTTERFINGER?

Tweet Week

When I first joined Twitter a couple months back, I was first brought in by its simplicity, but I stayed for the challenge.  The inherent challenge with Twitter is: How witty or humorous can I be in 140 characters or less?  Twitter gets referred to by its proponents as "microblogging," so what better place to chronicle my best (worst?) tweets than right here on my... macroblog.

With this post I'm starting a new, weekly feature (and a new label to filter my posts with) called "Tweet Week."  (I had considered, "this week in erroneous quips" but felt it didn't have much of a ring to it.)  Each friday night, I'll gather up all of my wittiest tweets from the previous seven days (with nested @reply vollies if needed) and post them in a consolidated lump. 

And now, for the maiden voyage (which has more than a week, just to prime the pump):

• With a lot of cereals, the generic is a direct, 1 to 1 equivalent, but for name brand Cocoa Puffs, there is no equal.

• My sentiments exactly. The Zune.... zucks: http://bit.ly/2lISMj

• I think that Michael Ironside is kind of a poor man's Jack Nicholson.

• Nancy Pelosi sounds like Miss Teen USA while working overtime to lie (I'm surprised to not hear her say "in the Iraq"):  http://bit.ly/gJ1Pb

• Ok, I'm about to watch a scifi cult classic which gets referenced constantly by comedians: "Scanners."

• Hypothesis: If you're under 30 and ride a motorcycle, you're probably a prick.

• Posted an old hip-hop project I did in 2004 for free download on my blog: http://tinyurl.com/pccsvk Enjoy!

• Mozart was a dirty man! http://bit.ly/oYd7

• It is a sad statement about our society's / media's unhealthy views that Kim Kardashian gets considered "fat." Are you kidding??

• Man, Beethoven was kind of a punk.

the Guide has arrived ... and i'm totally geeking out

I am an enormous technology geek, so allow me a moment to geek out for a minute or two.

I recently read this issue of my favorite webcomic, xkcd, and thought maybe the author was taking some liberties with the facts.

He was not.  As an occasional Amazon customer, I got their email newsletter today, which just happened to be promoting the new Kindle 2.  I clicked on the embedded link and discovered that it's even more Amazing than xkcd lets on.

I was really impressed when the iPhone and the iPod touch offered WiFi internet.  The Kindle goes a step further and gives you free, high-speed, 3G internet acess to not just their store, but also over a thousand different blogs, and unlimited acess to Wikipedia!  xkcd really wasn't lying.  This really is the freaking Hitchhiker's Guide.  Also, in that same vein, if you are reading a book, newspaper article or Wikipedia page and see a word that you don't know, the Kindle 2 has The New Oxford American Dictionary, built right into it.  How sick is that?!

One of the biggest reasons that I've never gotten into ebooks is because I can't read a book without writing in it.  Libraries are like big teases to me.  I get 20 pages into a library book and then I'm like, "Well, crap. Now I have to go buy this book so I can write in it."  Underlining and annotating books is an essential part of the reading process for me. With the Kindle2, you can not only annotate, but you can also clip passgages, along with your notes right from the book and Amazon actually backs up all of your notes to their servers.  How insane is that?  Backup is a huge feature with the Kindle in general.  Amazon will allow you, without complaint, to re-download any digital purchase you've made, any number of times.

The battery life is also astronomical.  If you leave the wireless connection switched on, you can still use your Kindle for 4 days without a recharge.  If you switch it off however, you can go for two weeks without recharging!  A large part of this is the ingenious screen design which uses what they call Digital Paper technology.  It's a grayscale screen (one of the only bummers about this device), but due to the nature of the technology behind it, it can be read in direct sunlight without needing a backlight.  It's funny, because the technology actually works like a fancy, electronic Etch-a-Sketch.  It uses pixel-sized pieces of magnetized sand, kind of like toner, which fall away from the screen whenever it's cleared.  As far as I can tell, it really is like reading off of paper.  At the same time, the lack of a backlight necessitates lighting in order to read, but let's be honest, so do actual books.

The wireless connections is powered by Amazon's Whispernet technology, which is supplied through Sprint's 3G data network.  It has a built in EVDO high-speed wireless modem but will revert back to 1xRTT if no EVDO service is available.  As a result of the connection speed, Amazon boasts that all books download wirelessly in under 60 seconds.

As a crowning element, the Kindle operates as a completely independent device.  Unlike most digital devices these days - e.g. mp3 players, digital cameras, etc. - the Kindle never needs to be connected to a computer. Ever.  Right out of the box, you can begin using it.  Oh, and on that same note, it doesn't come with a manual.  If you want one, there's one built into it, but every testimonial I've read so far sings the praises of the Kindle's intuitive design which lends itself to being learned in just a few minutes of fooling around with it.

All around, this device is kind of blowing my mind.  It's definitely fallen into the "gear lust" category, and is now on my Google wishlist, from which any of you reading this can feel free to buy me things.  I recommend going and watching the introductory video below.  Be careful though, your brain might blow up too.

UPDATE: http://www.theonion.com/content/infograph/the_new_kindle

apparently, i'm facebook's Chat Terrorist #1

Normally, I'm loath to speak an ill word about Facebook. In my opinion, it's everything that MySpace should have been (classy, useful, functional) and does far more good than it does harm. That said, it's efforts to not become another MySpace have sunk to gestapo tactics. It being the day after Christmas, I've been talking to lots of friends online through Facebook and asking how their holiday was. I was talking to three of my friends at once, and suddenly this message pops up on my screen:

This is interesting, I think to myself, what exactly is going on here? "Misuse of Facebook's features?" What exactly is that supposed to mean? Oh, yeah, I made the strange assumption that Facebook was a social networking site, because if that was the case it would be totally fine with me communicating with people. ... But wait, Facebook IS a social networking site, so what's the problem? Well, it gives me a link to it's FAQ page, so I'll do a little research. Upon clicking the first couple relevants subheadings on the FAQ page, I get these results:

The numerous problems with this are as follows:

1. "You were given a warning to slow down." This most certainly did not happen. I was just suddenly blocked by the Facebook SS.
2. "Adding friends too quickly"???? Are the problems in the world today a result of people having too many friends?
3. "Facebook cannot provide any specifics on the rate limits that we enforce." What is this? The government from Atlas Shrugged? Getting punished for rules that you didn't even know were in place or how you're supposed to obey them?
   
4. "Ranging from a few hours to a few days." The minimum blocking time is a few hours?!? Even on the antiquated AOL Instant Messenger, blocking usually only happened for a few minutes.

The biggest irk is that this is incredibly inconsistent. I've carried on a greater number of conversations for far longer periods of time on numerous occasions before without this ever happening. What is the deal?

Next in the FAQ, I found this:

So their response to people using their messaging service as a chat client was to create a chat client.... which is ALSO not to be used as a chat client. They recommend Facebook Chat and neglect to mention that even that is only to be used twice per year to send a single message along the lines of "OMG! UR2CUTE! ROFL! WTF? IDK. G2G, TTYL!"

And that, my friends, is the end of this rant.