Amazon Launched Android App Store (Blog Post)

Just thought I'd share... Amazon Appstore for Android just launched and it allows you to receive a different paid Android app for free every day. Today's free paid app is Angry Birds Rio, which I suppose I'll download since it's free and everyone seems to like Angry Birds, even though I've never played before.

In other Android news, the Motorola Xoom Wi-fi goes on sale this Sunday, March 27 for under $600. It will be under $599 at some resellers like Costco who will also include a rubber cover. Still, I prefer buying from Amazon because in my state I don't have to pay sales tax, so it's an almost 10% discount via there.

Also, I had half a salad and half a sandwich for lunch. With plain iced tea.

Open Source Droid Bluetooth/Wifi Remote Control for Your PC (Blog Post)

I have an HTPC (Home Theater PC) hooked up to my TV and I've always used a wireless RF keyboard that's done a decent job but often has trouble without a clear line of sight even from less than 10 feet away and the 6 AA batteries always die very quickly.

I finally opted for a new mini bluetooth keyboard, hoping that the longer range of bluetooth and the rechargeable lithium ion battery would solve my problems. As neat as the light, tiny handheld keyboard + trackpad is, it's a pain because it often loses its connection and the trackpad movements are always delayed and imprecise.

It just hit me 10 minutes ago that I have another handheld bluetooth device: my Droid phone. I did a quick search in the Android market and found a phenomenal open source app called pRemoteDroid. You just install the app on your phone, download and run the server software for your PC, then connect your phone to the desktop app via bluetooth or wifi and that's it!

Not only is it free, open source, and simple to set up, but the connection is really solid, mouse movements are precise and instantaneous as are keyboard strokes, you can capture screenshots (used as the background in the Droid app), and you can quickly, easily navigate folders and launch files via your phone.

I'm really impressed with this software and encourage anyone looking for a PC remote control solution to consider using it.

English for Smarties (Blog Post)

  1. primary
  2. secondary
  3. tertiary
  4. quaternary
  5. quinary
  6. senary
  7. septenary
  8. octonary
  9. nonary
  10. denary
  11. (none)
  12. duodenary
  13. (none)
  14. (none)
  15. (none)
  16. (none)
  17. (none)
  18. (none)
  19. (none)
  20. vigenary

There are no sequential words following: once, twice, and thrice
Whereas misogynist is a person who hates or dislikes females, misandrist is a person who hates or dislikes males.
Diurnal is the opposite of nocturnal.
Angry and hungry are the only two words that end with gry.
Sororal is the female equivalent of fraternal.
Nothing rhymes with orange or silver.


[via]

Horribly Terrific (Blog Post)

I had a thought today: Isn't it interesting that something horrible is horrific while something terrible is terrific?

Terrific just has such a happy connotation in most contexts despite the negative nature of its etymology, while its counterpart terrible retains its terror-centric inflection.

It's not a phenomenal realization, I admit, but I found myself surprised that I'd never before considered this ambiguity.

Hmm hmm him.

Merging Late Speeds Traffic (Blog Post)

Like most everyone else, I can't help feeling extremely irritated on the road when the right lane merges into the flow of traffic and car after car zooms as far down the lane as possible instead of just merging. I heard about this study a while back that says those drivers improve the speed of traffic and thought I'd share the story with you in case you'd missed it.



By Tom Greenwood, DETROIT NEWS STAFF WRITER:

... more inside ...
The moral of the story is you should do as all those speed demons do and consider it a favor to everyone else on the road.

Early man 'butchered and ate the brains of children as part of everyday diet' (Blog Post)



By Niall Firth at Daily Mail (Online):

Early cavemen in Europe ate human meat as part of their everyday diet, new research suggests.

A new study of fossil bones in Spain shows that cannibalism was a normal part of daily life around 800,000 years ago among Europe’s first humans.
... more inside ...

Nerdist Interview of Stan Lee (Blog Post)

Don't miss this rather great podcast interview of Stan Lee by Chris Hardwick (aka. Nerdist).



I'm no comic book nerd by any stretch, but I was fascinated and very entertained by this interview. Stan Lee is a pretty funny and spry fellow for his age, and he provides some very interesting insight into the comic book world as far back as the 1940s.

Check it out.

KICK-ASS KICKS ASS. (Blog Post)

Saw it last night and fucking loved every second of it. Extremely well done and far beyond my expectations. Will definitely see it again soon. Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit Girl was a scene-stealer and the star of the show, but the writing and action were phenomenal.

"With no power comes no responsibility."



Of course if you have delicate sensibilities and can't stand the thought of a cute little girl cursing and slicing up bad guys, you might find this morally reprehensible and should stick to High School Musical and Spongebob Squarepants.

Nerdist Podcast with Adam Savage of Mythbusters (Blog Post)

Just thought I'd share this rather entertaining podcast by Chris Hardwick (aka Nerdist) with Adam Savage of Mythbusters. Chris, who you may know from Singled Out on MTV and Attack of the Show fame, is by far the funniest nerd/geek standup comedian I've ever heard.

It's a really great listen and can be downloaded at the following address. Adam even does stand up for the first time in his life - and he's funny!
http://www.nerdist.com/2010/04/nerdist-podcast-10-live-largo-w-adam-savage-nsfw/



From Nerdist:

Number 10: Live @ Largo w/ Adam Savage!

I’m very lucky in my life to have smart, exceptionally nice friends. I happily count Mythbusters‘ own Adam Savage in that group and I was thrilled that he joined us for our very first live podcast. This was recorded at Largo in Los Angeles on April 5th, 2010 in front of a kick-ass crowd of delightful humans. As these people had exchanged hard-earned dollars for seats to this show, we made it a little longer than a normal podcast by incorporating live performances and taking Q & A from them at the end.

*SPECIAL NOTE: Adam did stand-up for the FIRST TIME in his life and DESTROYED. It was truly hilarious and I hope he continues to do it!

*SPECIAL NOTE #2: We all swear a lot in this, so if you wanted to listen to this with your kids, think again unless you’re sure the Internet has already taught them way worse things than F-bombs.

Excelsior!

Jesus Was a Homo sapien (Blog Post)

Added this new t-shirt design to TeeVirus the other day:



The idea hit me in an epiphany where the sun god Ra descended from the heavens and whispered sweet nothings in my ear. I imagine it'd come across as pretty... hardcore and borderline offensive to religious zealots of the Christian persuasion, but I'm pretty proud of the idea because it's slightly witty and Google tells me it's pretty unique as a slogan in general, not only as a t-shirt.

Do you think it's over the line or all in good agnostic fun? If you like it, head on over to TeeVirus and vote on it.

Also, do you think you'd be brazen enough to actually wear it? Methinks I lack the testicular fortitude.

First Ever Half Animal Half Plant Discovered: Slugs That Photosynthesize (Blog Post)



Scientists have discovered a sea slug that has gained the ability to manufacture chlorophyll and feed via photosynthesis. Some day humans may have green skin and no longer need to eat. We'd need only lay out in the sun for nutrition. Eating would be little more than a luxury.

Anyway, here are more details from PhysOrg.com:


The photosynthetic sea slug Elysia chlorotica appears like a dark green leaf as a result of retaining chloroplasts from its algal prey, Vaucheria litorea, in cells lining its digestive tract. Image credit: Mary S. Tyler/PNAS.


(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the University of South Florida in Tampa have found a green sea slug is able to synthesize chlorophyll like a plant, which makes it the first animal known to be capable of the feat.

Researcher Sidney K. Pierce said the super green sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, which lives in waters on the east coast of the USA and Canada, is known to steal genes and photosynthesizing organelles called chloroplasts from its favorite intertidal algae species, Vaucheria litorea, but it now seems it has developed an entire chemical pathway to manufacture the green pigment "chlorophyll a" itself.

Chlorophyll is the pigment that captures energy from sunlight in photosynthesis. Pierce and his team used radioactive tracing techniques to determine the slugs were manufacturing the chlorophyll themselves and it did not originate in the algae they ate.

A number of animals (such as corals) host microbes and algae and benefit from their photosynthesis, but in most of these associations the cells remain whole. In Elysia chlorotica, in contrast, the cells are broken down and chloroplasts are extracted and held inside the slug's own cells, where they remain active for the slug's lifetime of almost a year. Researchers have shown that once a young slug has eaten a meal of Vaucheria algae it never has to eat again as long as it has access to light and supplies of chlorophyll and other chemicals used in photosynthesis.

In 2007 scientists, including Pierce and his team, found genes related to photosynthesis in the slugs, and these genes, apparently originally from the algae, were even found in unhatched slugs that had never eaten algae. In the latest research Pierce found more algal genes, and some of them were for enzymes required for the chemical process manufacturing chlorophyll.

Pierce and his team studied slugs that had not eaten anything for at least five months and had stopped eliminating waste digestive products. They contained chloroplasts taken from the algae, but Pierce said that any other part of the algae should have long ago been digested. They gave the slug an amino acid labeled with radioactive carbon and found that the radioactive carbon turned up in the chlorophyll a molecule after the slugs had been sunbathing, but not if they had been in the dark.

The findings were reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Seattle, Washington on 7 January and will be published in the journal Symbiosis.

© 2010 PhysOrg.com

Must See TV: Breaking Bad (Blog Post)



In my last blog post I mentioned in passing the show Breaking Bad, but it's such an incredible show that it deserves its own blog post.

I am surprised to say I had never heard of the show anywhere before I heard the leading actor, Bryan Cranston, being interviewed by Adam Carolla. I didn't really get a feel for what the show was from the interview, but I was interested enough to give it a shot. And holy shit I'm glad I did.

Breaking Bad is a phenomenal show that is extremely dark but doubly well done. The writing is great, while the characters and performances are awe-inspiring. Bryan Cranston won the last 2 "Best Actor in a Drama Series" Emmy awards with very good reason.

If I still haven't convinced you to go watch it immediately, I'll tell you a bit about the premise, but I started watching the show without any idea of the plot and I recommend you do the same.



[PREMISE SPOILERS FOLLOW]... more inside ...

If you aren't watching Modern Family... (Blog Post)

What's wrong with you?



After hearing so many wonderful things about the show, I finally decided to give it the old once over and I am so glad I listened to all the rave reviews. Modern Family is by far one of the best family/comedy shows I've ever seen.

The comedy is hilarious, the characters are interesting and entertaining, but most importantly it has a lot of heart. It's as sweet as it is funny.

I hope this lame little blog convinces everyone who hasn't seen the show to watch every episode from the beginning without missing a one. It's available at Hulu. (However, Hulu makes it very difficult to just watch every full episode in order, so I'd recommend other sources).

Who's Aging Better? Richard Gere vs. Diane Lane (Blog Post)

Tomorrow's battle:

whosagingbetter.com

vs.

Also, I haven't done a write-up for either of their profiles, and I'd greatly appreciate if any of you literary types would be so kind as to help with that. (Format doesn't really matter, but you can browse some of the other competitor profiles to get a feel. Email whosagingbetter at gmail dot com. Thanks!)


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