Gear-Rant

The March 23rd episode of Chuck has a Predator Drone firing a missile at the “Buy More” at Doheny & Wilshire in Beverly Hills, which is pretty much the address I worked at for 3 years. That location is actually office buildings and street level shops along Wilshire with residences behind lining Doheny. Freaky. (Chuck mentioned that address but the Nerd Herd typed in 10100 Wilshire.)

There’s plenty to watch on TV these days, certainly in the two categories I lean towards which is entertainment-drama and sci-fi. I hate reality shows, the talent shows and other nonsense the masses seem to be addicted to. Video games does take a big dent out of my time from watching television, as does the internet and DVDs/Blu-ray. It’s probably the same for many of you following in my hi-tech footpaths.
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I’ve been fascinated by the talent of pavement and urban artists for years. Many of the works of art look 3D from certain angles, some even look real. Some pix and links.
• Bansky – official site
• More Banksy
• Edgar Mueller
• Julian Beever
• Streetsy – Best of 2008
• WebUrbanist

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Always on the lookout for new beers to try, this winter I found a couple of winners. On one guy’s night out at the Horseshoe Pub, in Hudson, MA, we sampled Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock. Living in New England, I do tend to favor The Boston Beer Company, as it’s a “local” brewery, and their products certainly hold their own. Over the years I’ve had a good assortment winter, dark and holiday beers from all over, with interesting ingredients including molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, orange, coffee, honey, and vanilla. This style of beers might or might not include some of these ingredients, along with other spices, with some you can really smell and taste while others offer just a hint. (continue reading…)

A beautiful comet is visible in the evening sky. I’ve viewed it several times – and you can to if you have decent binoculars or a good telescope. Visit this Sky & Telescope website for detailed information you’ll need to find it. Do it soon as the comet is moving away from Earth now and will start to dim.

With the very easy-to-use WPtouch plug-in for WordPress, readers can check out your blog on an iPhone or iPod touch, formatted, in order by post date, and even leave comments. Touching a post title brings up the full story with the header in bold, included images, comment fields and a link to the next post. (continue reading…)

I’m amazed at the overall lackluster Blu-ray titles released month-after-month. In a given week, there are maybe an average of 15+ titles, mostly made up of “B” films (if we are lucky) and a plethora of movies I have never heard of or not going to fork over $25-$35 for. Come on! – a premium format at a premium price should have a premium library.
But I am happy to see things changing. Looking at the 2009 release schedule, hardly a week goes by I don’t see a few choice titles come up. Last fall the 007 catalog started trickling through with 3 random titles released at a time individually or grouped in 3-box set. And The Dark Knight was given special treatment available with a bonus disk and Batpod miniature.
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There are two major complaints I have had for many years in the world of gadgets.

    1. Why do so many portable devices have to use unique batteries?
    2. Why can’t mobile phones all use the same connector and charger?

Someone out there heard me, at least for question #2. The GSMA trade association announced at its 2009 Mobile World Congress this month that the leading handset manufacturers have agreed on a cell phone charging standard. The target date for implementation is set to appear by Jan 1st, 2012, when most cell phones will use the same charger and micro USB connector. All major manufacturers have jumped on board…AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, and Vodafone, but not Apple (no big surprise there). The charger is also being designed to be energy efficient using 50% less power when left in a power outlet. Because Apple uses their dock to charge the iPhone, it’s understandable they don’t want to change that, so that leaves either an adapter or separate USB connection (which won’t happen). Now will someone in the industry get back to me on the battery thing?

Come for the Beer, Stay for the Stars

Most of the amateur astronomers I hang out with never get too bummed when the skies cloud over and we have to call it a night. Instead, as tradition dictates, we head over to our favorite nearby pub as quickly as possible. Since we all enjoy tipping back a tasty brew with good friends, we started an annual holiday tradition we call The 12 Beers of Xmas. (continue reading…)

The 81st Academy Awards were held last night and I issued myself a pass. Not a pass to get in, but a pass to pass on watching the broadcast. The last time I sat through the Oscars was a couple years ago. The last time I watched the show in its entirety, well, all I remember was a really funny skit involving Owen Wilson with a crack about why he should be up for an award for Behind Enemy Lines when all he did was run around in it. That was the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.
See, the thing is I love the movies. I have seen more than my individual share at the theater, attended screenings when I lived in Los Angeles, premieres in NYC, owned hundreds on VHS, bought over 1400 films on LaserDisc and more than 500 on DVD plus made the switch to Blu. But I don’t care a whole lot for the Hollywood crowd. To me most of the actors and actresses are a bunch of spoiled babies with huge issues. I don’t read about them in People because I don’t really care about what they have to say – only what they are told to say in whatever film they are in. I don’t want to hear their political views either, just like I don’t necessarily want to know about some random guys view who is plucked off the street in Tucson.
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