gmendel

gmendel @ 2009-04-30T11:15:00

2009-04-30T18:16:22Z

Obama's first 100 days: A Complete And Utter Failure

Peanut Butter product recall

2009-01-20T18:00:50Z

It looks like the FDA is recalling lots of products made with peanut butter from Peanut Corporation of America due to a possible Salmonella outbreak.

Actual jars of peanut butter are fine - PCA doesn't sell directly to consumers.

There's a place to search at the link above. Looks like my peanut butter granola bars are okay, but I won't be buying any Keebler peanut butter crackers soon.

What could be even scarier than a zombie plague?

2009-01-08T19:10:22Z

Here, in appropriately creepy form, is a graphic of Walmart taking over the country.

Best. Gameshow. Ever.

2008-12-05T07:46:50Z

Prop 8

2008-11-01T17:35:48Z

It looks like Prop 8 in California just picked up a major celebrity endorsement.

I guess I'd have to support it if I lived in California. Apparently the ability of homosexuals to marry is threatening my own marriage. If this doesn't pass, I'll have to get a divorce, and neither I nor my spouse want to see that happen. We're very happy together!

gmendel @ 2008-10-17T14:18:00

2008-10-17T21:21:53Z

I've been a fan of the iGoogle homepage for a long time, but now they've put a whole list of tabs on the left side of the screen, screwed up the way Gmail shows up there, and did some other annoying stuff.

Then I found out how to reverse it: Go to My Account, find the Settings link next to iGoogle, and change your language to English (UK).

Several minutes later, iGoogle was back to the way it was. (it didn't happen immediately)

TRON 2

2008-08-06T02:09:50Z

So I, in all my Internet Coolness, have found a link to a bootleg of the TRON 2 trailer shown at Comicon.

Should I force my friends to beg me for the link? Hmm? Wait for all of you to grovel?

No, no, I will be generous. Click here.

internet comic book coolness

2008-07-18T23:48:53Z

If you're any kind of comic book fan, you've read The Watchmen - Alan Moore's vision of superheroes in an alternate 1980's America that is very close to nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

The movie will be in theaters fairly soon, and it will be very faithful to the comic book. Check it out.

In other news, part 2 of Dr. Horrible is up, the third part will be up on Saturday, and the whole thing will be gone from the website Sunday midnight, so watch it while you can.

Dr. Horrible's sing along blog is here!

2008-07-15T10:21:31Z

The newest thing from Joss Whedon has arrived, and it's pretty darn cool. Take a look.

Coming soon, from Joss Whedon. UPDATE

2008-06-29T23:22:20Z

If this link doesn't work, just go to youtube and look for "Dr. Horrible's sing along blog".

Talk about your OLD-school gamers...

2008-06-14T23:17:43Z

Apparently Gygax didn't invent the d20. This thing at Christie's is from Rome nearly two thousand years ago. Click on the pic to go to the auction page.

gmendel @ 2008-04-09T17:59:00

2008-04-10T01:02:10Z

Tribute

2008-04-05T21:12:11Z

Recently found on the campus of MIT:

gmendel @ 2008-04-01T16:38:00

2008-04-01T23:41:43Z

For those who don't know, Wookiepedia is the ultimate place for trivia on anything Star Wars.

Today only, there is some fantastic April Fools stuff. Click over there and type in anything in the search bar. Also, take a close look at the picture of the AT-ATs at the top of the page.

I like the Anakin Skywalker entry. Also, here's an entry on Darth Vader's favorite way to break the ice at parties.

EDIT: Though I don't play World of Warcraft, I am amused by their own April Fool's Day offering. Click the trailer.

A sad day for the geek in all of us

2008-03-05T00:47:38Z

Gary Gygax passed away today at the age of 69.

He is best known as the co-creator (with Dave Arneson)of Dungeons & Dragons in the 1970's.

If you've ever rolled funny shaped dice, or you've ever been happy when your video game character leveled up, you have a lot to thank this man for.

Coincidentally, today is known is gamer circles as "GM Day."

Way too cool!

2008-02-22T02:54:59Z

The Segway was an impressive bit of engineering, but it didn't really set the world on fire.

Now the guy who made the Segway has created a robotic arm for amputees. Click the link to see the video, it looks amazing. Actually, it looks like bad CGI, but it's real, and designed to do anything a human arm can do. This is cool tech that could make a real difference in people's lives.

Is it too late to take the blue pill?

2008-02-09T16:04:09Z

Human scum! How dare you metabolize away all that chemical energy! We, your Machine Overlords, demand that you adopt this knee brace, so that you may better serve us in our war against Keanu Reeves!

Stick it to the Man! (by working in a productive manner)

2008-02-07T23:10:10Z

Google is introducing a new edition of it's Google Docs for employees in workplaces with employers who didn't want to sign up for the previous edition.

This version is designed specifically to get around IT departments who've resisted adopting the last version.

As one whose Significant Other has dealt with numerous hassle with her company's IT people nixing important and harmless software, I say, "Yay!"

Newspaper funnies made funnier

2008-01-06T06:18:58Z

When you've got some free time, check out the Comics Curmudgeon. Some guy goes through newspaper comics and rips on them. Sometimes it's good natured, like making fun of the unemployed husband in Sally Forth.

Sometimes it's not so good natured. For the "soap opera" comics which I've never found time to follow he really goes to town on the lame melodramas and the outdated ideas about male and female roles. What he does with the Family Circus must be seen to be believed:

"A good way to keep Dolly in line is to keep her ignorant of actual theology and just tell her that things that annoy you are sins that will damn her soul to hell for all eternity. Other sins in the Keane household: running in the house, staying up past eight o’clock, talking while mommy and daddy are trying to watch TV, and singing Christmas carols at any time."

Announcement: Apple's next big product

2007-12-10T00:57:00Z

D'oh!

2007-10-24T20:58:46Z

So I email an old friend in San Diego to ask "how're you doing?"

She replies, "I'm great, except that it is about 90 degrees, bone
dry and half of my city is burning. "

Shows how much I listen to the news these days. I believe the expression is... "Pwned"?

rumors: Star Wars live action TV series

2007-10-17T18:47:18Z

George Lucas has been meeting with writers about a live action Star Wars TV series. Some rumors about it sound pretty awesome - enough to send me into a quivering geekgasm. Stuff mentioned includes character-driven stories, Original Trilogy feel (but edgier), Boba Fett, Bib Fortuna... More here.

The best part? We can bet that if he's meeting with writers - He won't be writing it himself? Maybe not even directing?

Lucas is a great idea man. Also good with special effects. Let's hope he sticks to that.

This week in sports

2007-10-06T16:04:17Z

I'm not really a sports fan. My understanding is that a sports team is made up of players and owners who are not from the city they are representing. People just get attatched to the name and logo of the team and take it very personally whether that team wins or loses. I'm not sure why, it doesn't really have much to do with the fans at all.

Maybe people love watching a sport because of the strategy and athleticism of the game? Well, now we have Marion Jones, who is only the latest of athletes to admit to using performance enhancing drugs. It happens so much we lost the ability to be surprised by it long, long ago.

I'm wondering what the point is now. Sports seem to be about who can find the cleverist way to cheat. Thanks to the money involved, there is an entire shadow industry dedicated to manufacturing performance enhancing drugs that cannot be detected. If a top performing athlete HASN'T been proven to be doping, we can assume they're just using something the regulation authorities can't detect.

I think the best solution is to throw out all the rules altogether. Bring on the steroids, gene doping, and everything else that's out there. While we're at it, let's get cybernetic prosthetic limbs up to speed for competition. At least then sports can be about something - science, and how willing a player is to shamelessly abuse their bodies to win.

I think I'd actually watch that.

The brilliance of network executives

2007-09-28T01:49:59Z

So some NBC bigwigs were sitting around a table, thinking about plans for a new show, and what do they decide television needs? New ideas? Brilliant writers? A second season of Firefly?

No. Apparently what television needs is a new version of Knight Rider.

Look, people, revamping Battlestar Galactica was a good idea. A Transformers movie was a good idea. The new Bionic Woman TV show? I have no idea, I haven't seen it.

But... Knight Rider? We need Knight RIder?

Oh well. Maybe K.I.T.T. can be a hybrid.

Return of the 80's - again!

2007-09-07T15:57:20Z

We ALL know that the hollywood craze to revive the 80's cartoons into moneymaking film blockbusters can, sometimes, be heinously evil (Alvin and the Chipmunks, for crying out loud?), but I think this one has potential:

Tobey Maguire plans to produce (and may star in) a Robotech movie.

The article says something about giving it a Transformers treatment - does that mean live-action? I could see that looking cool. Tobey might make a decent Rick Hunter. We all know the REAL challenge would be turning Lynn Minmei into a character that everybody wouldn't want to strangle.