Monday, August 31, 2009

ATT Wireless Sucks

"More bars in more places" my ass. If only I didn't love my iPhone...

Friday, August 21, 2009

The 12 Most Annoying Types of Facebookers

Great list put together by CNN.com:


The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Maddening Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical.


The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?"

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

U.S. Soccer looks to EA Sports to help develop next generation of pros



ou would think that with a population of 300 million the U.S. would be a little better at soccer than it currently is. Not that the US Mens National Team is terrible—its victory against Spain in the Confederations Cup in June was all kinds of great—but we’re (yup, Royal We time) not exactly known as a “world power,” mentioned in the same breath with Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. In steps… EA? Yup, we just got word that EA Sports, makers of FIFA 10, has teamed up with US Soccer to develop and promote a series of training videos that young players can use to improve their game. Is is enough to to give some future USMT the World Cup one day? US Soccer certainly has high hopes.

The premise is pretty simple, actually. American kids spend an awful amount of time playing video games, so why not get these kids, kids who have already expressed an interest in the sport, to improve their game a little bit? EA set up a new Web site, Interactive Training, that has a series of tutorial videos that explain the basics of the game to youngsters. (The program is aimed at 8-12 year olds.) So you’re playing a round of FIFA against your son/daughter or younger brother/sister, and you say, “Wow you’re good at headers in the game. Let’s go to this Web site where they’ll teach you how to actually head the ball.”

That’s just what US Soccer would like to see, at least. I talked to John Hackworth, who’s the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Technical Director (a fancy title that means, essentially, he’s in charge of youth development), and he said that, yeah, U.S. Soccer should try to leverage, if that’s the right word, kids’ proclivity to sit down and play FIFA all day long. Why not tell these kids, “Look, you’re pretty good at this game, why not try it out for real?” That way you’ve exposed the sport to a large number of kids who might turn out to be halfway decent one day.

Again, no one expects overnight success here, especially if it’s targeting young kids. But there’s nothing wrong with steps in the right direction.

Courtesy of Crunch Gear

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Vegas Commercials Are Genius; "Chinchilli Day"

Whether or not you are like me and find small furry animals hilarious, you can't not seee the genius in the latest Las Vegas commercial celebrating Chinchilli Day...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It's Official, DJ Languis Is Live On The Web

WWW.DJLANGUIS.BLOGSPOT.COM

The hottest dj in the bay has taken it to the web, check it out and download his mixes.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Paul Rodriguez, Ice Cube, and Nike Skateboards

Awesome commercial with P-Rod and Ice Cube repping Nike SB...great find from Luaggz.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Facebook Makes It Harder for You to Hook Up

facebook-profile.jpg


Facebook's Advanced Search (now called "Profile Search") no longer lets you search by relationship status.

Great. Mark Zuckerberg starts a service in order to meet hotties, then decides to make it harder for the 250 million people who signed on to do the same.