They’ve Got Brass Balls, I’ll Give Them That Much
Great article on the Top 10 “Worst” Playstation Ads of all time. I put quotes around “Worst” because if advertising collects eyeballs, I’m not so sure it can be deemed “bad”. Plus, I and the writer of this article are probably not in the target demographics. However, there is some bizarre shit here:
Worst Ads
Weird List of Stuff
I stumbled across this today and figured that some of you might find these “facts” amusing. The one about celery is a myth, as I understand it. If not I should be eating nothing but celery for the next few weeks so I can fit into that thong.
My Almost Spoiler-Free Indy Review
Let me start out this review with the following statements:
1. If you have accepted the fact that George Lucas has gone stark raving nuts, then there is a greater chance you will enjoy the new Indiana Jones.
2. If you think you can keep your lunch down as Shia LeBouf tries to be a Sha Na Na wannabe, then there is a greater chance you will enjoy the new Indiana Jones.
3. Spielberg, please stop Mr. Lucas from pen to paper, electronic or otherwise, ever again. You are our only hope.
That being said, I enjoyed the movie in general. The action scenes were well-staged and well-executed. Steven Spielberg was responsible for everything good in the movie; the spectacular opening sequence had his fingerprints all over it. However, the plot is - well, awful. I would say about halfway through I became a little embarrassed. I thought “I know this is going this direction, but let’s hope and pray to God not.” Perhaps by now you’ve heard the stories, about how the Indy team went through several writers to come up with a script, including Frank Darabont (who’s not thrilled). The Wikipedia says it all. Although there were many writers involved in the final product, George Lucas dreamed up the ludicrous story. Well, one of the many well-known “Will this movie suck?” guidelines is the number of writers involved - the more, the less merry. Indiana Jones was the kingdom of hair-brained ideas. The Ark of the Covenant and its powers was as plausible as the electic car compared to the plot devices in the latest Indy.
As for the actors, the aforementioned Shia LeBouf was flat out lame, and the movie did him no favors. The Tarzan scene alone would have outright killed a less talented actor’s career (I’m looking at you, Chris O’Donnell). Karen Allen, pulled out of semi-retirement, was charmingly pissed away. Ray Winstone tried gamely, and William Hurt was OK as the obvious stand-in to Sean Connery (who told the Indy gang to go piss up a rope).
The primary problem - no Nazis. Darabont’s first script called for no Bowser, Marion Ravenwood back in action, and best of all…Nazis. My God, give us Nazis! Yeah, yeah, The Red Menace, Commies, Hammer and Sickle, blah blah. Really, who cares about Russians? Last time I checked, they loved their children, too. There is no more despicable villain in the history of the world than Nazis. Watching a goosestepper getting devoured by swarms of ants, as finally nothing remains but a glistening swastika medal. - that is my idea of a good time.
What about Hybrids?
With Oil being the scary topic lately, affecting everything from food to dating, we have learned to look elsewhere - Hybrids. These lush little dollies are the wave of the future right? My pal Enigma has the Honda version and loves it. Recently we have been discussing the battery replacement costs, which frankly scared the bejeebies out of me.
I found this article that talks to the topic that may add to the discussion.
Where is all the oil?
Ever wonder were all the Oil Fields, Refineries and Oil Pipelines are?
- http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2008/oilreserves
- http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/oil_and_gas_sites.html
- http://www.theoildrum.com/uploads/refinerymap.gif
- http://images.pennnet.com/mapsearch/all_pipe.jpg
- http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/lsesale/Visual2.pdf
- http://images.pennnet.com/mapsearch/refineries.jpg
You may be surprised where you will find oil. http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/petroMaps.html
I miss ME
While just about everyone I know ramps up there computer for Age of Conan, I can not. Sure, I have a Dell laptop, which means upgrading is probably impossible. However, my computer is fairly new, and it more than meets the minimum requirements for the game. No, the problem with my rig is Windows Vista + Dell = good luck finding updated video drivers. Here is the breakdown:
Dell does not offer the latest drivers for my NVIDIA card.
NVIDIA does not offer drivers for Dell computers, and their standard drivers do not recognize my hardware.
Windows Vista is the spawn of Satan.
Anyone want a copy of AoC, cheap?
I got Dubai in my Eye!
Where does all that oil money go you ask? Watch this.
Disturbing News
A friend of mine this morning shared this article with me regarding what the Big Oil Companies are doing with the landfall of money, that they are oddly getting during an oil crisis. Not sure how. Think about it - You are saying that the supply for a product is far lower than the demand. It is costing your company much more money to conduct business - so how then are you making record profits? Are you also increasing the overhead charge to your consumers beyond the percentage you maintained before?
Say you spend 140 dollars per barrel of oil(this site covers that). A barrel yields 42 gallons of gasoline, so you are paying $3.33 per gallon of gas. The consumer, however, is now paying in some cases 5 dollars per gallon of gas, or 150% of what you paid! Nice profit.
A year ago Gas was at like $65 per barrel (Costs the buyer of said barrel $1.54 per gallon) and consumers were paying on average $1.60 per gallon, or 103%!
How is it that we now pay that much more percentage wise of the whole?
GREED
It Was a Very Good Year
I posted Shatner destroying “It was a very good year” - a song made most famous by Sinatra, but I feel this may redeem me… somehow. Good bye Fellas, we love you.
You are not paid to think. Now sit down, nod your head, and agree.
Over the past three decades, the gradual reduction in true American innovation remains negatively correlated with the gradual increase in the mass media’s ability to continually flood the populace’s awareness with insignificant (read: statistically insufficient) stories of successful innovators. This has led to a broad-based false awareness regarding our true state of competitive effectiveness. Yes, there is innovation in this country. No, it is not as prevalent as it once was. Some would state that this is the logical result of >50% of all hard science and engineering advanced degrees being bestowed in this country to students of foreign birth (many of whom return to their homeland upon receiving said degree). A recent New England Journal of Medicine article cited forecasts illustrating that by the year 2020, 80% of bio-engineering advanced degrees will go to foreign students in American universities. I believe this is just part of the story. Through the systematic dummying of our society (which begs for a separate blog entry all of its own), business culture has begun to reflect general culture and has morphed to adopt norms that actually instill disincentives towards the process of thinking (critical thinking, creative brainstorming, etc.). In Corporate America, we are taught that critical thinking is what you do during your off-hours. In fact, the fine art of brainstorming is now a course that must be taught so you can show your hard-earned certification on our résumé. As a F500 management consultant, I’ve become very use to seeing situations where ideation is simply given a superficial nod with little more expended towards its evaluation. Who wants optimization, intrapreneurialism, and positive change when one can work towards and embrace the status quo? When change (or just the idea of change) becomes a four-letter word, it indicates that our society has become mollified by its own history of success. Arrogance and ignorance become closely intertwined in this realm.
There is literally a monetary hurdle imposed on the activity that I’ll call “practiced thinking” (sans the depiction of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial culture). A primary example of this Onslaught Of The Stupid is when the ex-CTO of Microsoft was forced to defend his funding of Microsoft’s global research and development division AT EVERY INTERVIEW given during his tenure in the 90s. Dr. Nathan Myhrvold would patiently restate the tangible and intangible ROI of “practiced thinking” and cite a few viable examples of why this endeavor is actually primary to Microsoft’s longevity (fast-forward to now, and Microsoft has indicated that every single project in its pipeline has been thoroughly vetted by its R&D division for optimal market traction). Most obvious from this case in point is that the standard criterion applied to this cerebral-based activity is immediately categorized thusly, “You cannot make money from brainstorming.” It is currently considered of limited purpose in this country… like a peripheral effort that can be undertaken by anyone while zoned out watching “Reality TV”. I completely disagree. It takes an explicit degree of general and specific experience as well as broad applicable knowledge to generate innovative ideas (imaginary or not) - plus a rebel-like personality that doesn’t follow convention. This type of person is on the “endangered list” in our society and within the current business landscape. Additionally, I’ve yet to find certification training in practiced thinking that reflects these necessary attributes.
Personally, I seek-out and surrounded myself with idea-driven people as family, friends, and associates. It is people of this caliber that are required for continued innovation and forward momentum in any society. This particular variety of rarified “practiced thinker” isn’t limited by current stereotyping or succumb to cultural normative pressures — hiding in some ivory academic tower offering little free-market potential or willfully sequestered in some back office outside of the real work flow. These thinkers, and their ilk, are producers and their ability to create given the hurdles outlined here will be a true micro-measure of the continued success of our country in an ever-increasingly competitive global market.