Comic-Con 2010, my report

Whoa boy, here we go. This was and is my first *con experience. So to be honest I did not know what to expect. This is going to be a photo report of sorts, as they tell my story a bit better than I could. With that, lets dive in.

First off understand I'm normally a night person. Late night, not getting up at 4:30 am to get to somewhere 4 hours later. I may only be an hour and half away from San Diego I still knew I was going to hit traffic. And due to my need of coffee a well placed stop before Camp Pendleton was in order XD Also hit traffic in Carlsbad. But at least I was dressed for the occasion.

Comic-Con 2010, the mini post

Ok so this is going to be a short post. I just got back from SDCC 2010 and I'm tired. Some highlights:

Really want to buy Slaughterhouse when it comes out in Fall. Saw 38 Studios trailer for Kindoms of Amalur, The Reckoning. It's an epic "FUCK YEAH". It'll be a single player game first, then MMO. Speaking of MMOs, played DC Universe, Aion, City of Heroes Going Rogue, Tera Online, and Vindictus.

I mention The Reckoning because it was really the only panel I went to. I was going to go for the one to Tron Legacy. Which was in Hall H.

That H stood for hell. As in where the line went to and back. And stood for Hilton, which is where the line was forming for the panel that was scheduled BEFORE Tron.

*sigh* I'm tired and cranky. A full post will follow. Ciao.

This is why I loved chemestry class as a teen

It's absolutely fascinating to see the product of what is basically energy in a pure form being transferred from one process to another. Energy released from Hydrogen Peroxide (how many of us have that I wonder ~_^) and diphenyl oxlate is sent to florescent dye. The dye releases a photon. We see the photon and convert it, with our brain, into light and colors. Elegance in complexity.

And it is a pity (or maybe a godsend, given the stupidity of humanity at large) that you can't get DPO (or TCPO, as in the video, which is easier to handle). It isn't exactly available as readily as H2O2. In fact my cursory look shows you'd have to buy about 4 different chemicals to make some. That's tall order.

It makes me wish I had become a chemist. I started out one coming out of high school but burned out on the course work, and switched to IT/Business. :(

Oh, and if you don't happen to know what the video is talking about when it mentions Mountain Dew, here's the video. Realize this is fake as there is nothing in MD to cause this reaction. Someone poured an active glow stick into the bottle.

Tales from the Crapiness

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. I'm still recovering but I decided to go ahead and put a post together for you all. On the 3rd I went scrounging again for the greatest finds in the Crap Pile and Kitchen Crap to bring to you. Here's my recent findings.

Hopefully you don't need to cut anything, because the only offerings here are 12 soups spoons or 12 forks. And though you wouldn't think it, these are aluminium not plastic. Not a bad deal at $2, but still not worth it for the fear of it being coated with lead.

Being a guy I don't see the usefulness of this one. I guess if you gals want your bra straps to slowly strangulate your neck you can hook one of these things in and let it do it's magic.

Wow, that's a cheap Forty.... oh wait, 40 CDs. It holds 40 CDs. Damnit, I wanted a drink! Or a bottle, as the case may be.

Hard to see, but our old friend the Specuallty cloth is under this Beauty Scrub Cloth. And again with the whiter than fscking white skin from using this. At this point, I'm thinking about using an SOS pad rather than this. It might actually be gentler!

Speaking of fine engrish. Spange? Really? I'm really trying to figure out what accent I need to put on to convert sponge to this. And it's one of those plastic ones even, not a true sponge.

Oh god, the stupid it burns. Here's the thing. Some Grandma, somewhere, just bought this for her grandson who's into "that rangers thing." Bonus points here: Displays "New Arrival" and "Collect Them All" on the cardboard. 1) This never 'arrived' on TV as far as I can tell (Unless its a Super Sentai team I've never heard of) and 2) I have them all right there, and I know this because you're so goddamn cheap that you will never release more.

Ok, I know what a pie shield is. My question is thus: Why make it into 5 easy to lose pieces? yes I know you can shield different sizes of pies but how often do you switch between say a 9" to a 12"?

Going further down into the useless category. Really? Is the can lid too good for you you need to spend $5 or so on a piece of one-use-only crap? Has Alton taught you nothing?

Don't Make Bets Where I Work

Yeah, so a couple of executives made a bet on something (neither is tell anyone what the best was). One lost... and it must have been a hell of a bet because the loser is wearing this today.

(Face covered to hid embarrassment)

So yeah, Happy 4th everyone (and a belated Canada Day as well)

Oh god please don't suck: Woot.com aquired by Amazon

So yesterday my twitter account gave me a rather big shock. Woot.com, the originator of the deal-a-day marketing craze, has sold itself out to the largest web retailer in the world, Amazon.com.

No, pay no mind to me in my next statement: If they (Amazon) do anything to my beloved (Woot) I will come to each of the high brass and castrate them with a rusty spoon.

*ahem* With frightened rage out of the way I'd like to say that Matt Rutledge is one seriously humorous guy. He sent out this email to the Woot employees announcing the acquisition. It reads in part:

Over the next few days, you will probably read headlines that say “Matt Rutledge revealed to be monstrous pseudo-human creation of Jeff Bezos.” You might even see this photo making the rounds. Rest assured that these rumors have nothing to do with our final decision. We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor’s wife on our iPods.

That right there is genius XD. We also have some nice photo evidence of the Frankensteining of the two companies cultures.

And even the Woot Monkey got involved in the action:

All in all I have to say this is a fairly fun press release for what amounts to a metric shitton serious business practice. I hope it all goes well (again, castration by rusty spoons Amazon, don't for get it ~_^)

NOT LONGER POWERED BY THE AIR WE BREATHE

One year ago today we lost a great man, a great entertainer... oh wait, excuse me:

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY WE LOST A GREAT MAN

Bla bla bla yes I know the joke is old. But June 28th, 2009 was a real shocker. I thought at first the reports of his death were a joke. As more and more came in on the news feeds I realized we all were going to miss out on some truely epic and, more importantly, new products that he would hock. We'll still have the nostalgia of seeing his previous products like this one:

Wait just one fucking second, I've see this before. Holy SHIT! I HAVE seen it before

That's it, that's what happened. Billy didn't die from Oxycleaning his nose, causing him to have a heart attack. Vince offed him in a fit of rage over having the same damn product.

---

In all actuality, I had seen Billy's version of the producted at the Kitchen Pile several times. In fact seeing it there was the idea for naming the post about Vince Shalomi. Every time I tried getting a pic of the box, thought, I kept missing. Thought about even buying one, just to say that I have one. Anyways, may the man rest in peace. He gave me many laughs at his expense, hell I think he wants those laughs. As someone once told me: If you don't have haters you're not doing it right.

Driving Grandpa around in the La-Z-Boy

I love the "used parts" painted on the side. Make me think they're driving the guy to the ER and he has an organ donor card XD

McChrystal Relieved: How it couldn't happen any other way

I'd like to start off by saying that I think this General is now going to become a martyr for the right. But, as it were, there's not a whole lot this asshole could do to keep his job. Let me explain.

Article 88 of the Uniform code of Military Justice clearly states:

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

So, I want you to reimagine this for a second. Actually, screw that I'm going to tell you the most sure fire way to get fired.

Get yourself a nice PA system. Something that can broadcast, oh say, at least a city block or more. Moreover I also want you to have the cash on hand to post a few press releases in your local newspaper. Now, I need you to set up that PA system around your place of employment (or former employment, given the state of the economy -_- ). Now, pick out a busy day at said employment, fire (pardon the pun) the PA. Now I want you to say just about the nastiest things you can about your boss. Maybe even his boss, or some middle managers between you and him. I want you about as contemtuous as you can be in your comments. I also want you to write it all down, and buy some ads in your local paper and reprint your words there. Now, sit back. Count how long it takes for you to get fired. Shit, count how long until your bosses sue you for slandar.

Pulling back from the hypothetical and diving into reality: McChrystal is a dumbass. He damn well knew his words were going to be printed. He basically was up for court marshal over this, but Obama gave him an out. Either way it could have gone (Court Marshal, Fired, or Resignation) his infamous wisdom became a CLM.

It should also be noted that he wanted to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, polar to what Obama (shit, THE US PEOPLE) want to do. If he had played it smart he wouldn't have been taken down like this, raked through the mud by everyone.






[Edit] Here's a prime example of what McChrystal did, in civvie terms

Times Square bomb suspect pleads guilty

Interesting. Faisal Shazad pleaded guilty. No plea bargain, no "nope I'm not going to admit it" not guilty plea. Just "yeah I did it."

I'd say this boggles my mind but it really doesn't. I think this guy got way in over his head and now is, like a gentlemen, taking the blame. Given this guy obviously missed a few of the bomb making classes (fireworks? Really? Timothy McVeigh took more care in constructing his own bomb) he has also cooperated with investigators, spilling the beans on all he knows. He is facing live in prison, but I think that is justifiable given his intent and the fact that he failed. We.Got.Lucky. The next person they find to do his type of job will be better, and we had better be prepared for this.