I'm Just Saying

I've GOT to start watching GLEE

2010-10-21T18:05:00.001-04:00

I totally thought this was a family program!

From this month's GQ.

The Isle of Human by Johan Rosenmunthe

2010-09-13T10:28:00.008-04:00

It's remarkable how a simple but original idea, humbly executed, can prove to be so very moving!

theCoolist.com has posted a series by photographer Johan Rosenmunthe that is just short of genius. Check it out.

From theCoolist.com (c) Johan Rosenmunthe

The Isle of Human by Johan Rosenmunthe on theCoolist.com

Such inspirational work!

When did the Body Wash Wars begin?

2010-02-26T11:28:00.001-05:00

First AXE does a fantastic tongue in cheek job with Jaime Presley washing dirty balls (seriously).

Then we get the Dove campaign which is funny and creepy at the same time.

Then of course the one we're all talking about, the Old Spice, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.

What's next? Irish Spring Body Wash For Men Now with 40% Alcohol? Get clean and drunk, like a man.

Just saying.

I love the new spot for Old Spice

2010-02-19T15:48:00.005-05:00

Every time I watch the new spot from Wieden + Kennedy I can't help but smile. The writing, the acting, the timing ... sweet perfection.

Then they came back with a 15 second spot.

As part of the backstory, Leo Laporte conducted a less than enthusiastic behind-the-scenes interview with the two creatives who are responsible for the spot. The background information is excellent but Leo is NO Oprah Winfrey.

I have seen the Devil and its name is ACTA

2010-01-19T17:19:00.001-05:00

Everything you've ever wanted to know - or don't want to know - about the EVIL that is ACTA.

http://bit.ly/5ORBR5

Just to be clear, I have more concern about HOW this agreement is being drafted and ratified rather than WHAT is actually being drafted. I can't comment much on the second point because no one can actually see the new agreement ! It's a SECRET!

GameSpy: The Friendly and Honest Guide to Writing a Videogame Story

2009-10-17T17:38:00.003-04:00

GameSpy: The Friendly and Honest Guide to Writing a Videogame Story

Posted using ShareThis

My Neighbour is Batman!!!

2009-09-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Imagine this if you will. My next door neighbour gets up on an average Saturday morning. No different than you or me, he has breakfast with his wife and kids, he brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and gets dressed. He puts on his underwear first, then his socks. He pulls on a T-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans. Lastly he dons a flowing black cape, a gold utility belt, and a pointy-eared Batman mask.

He calls to the kids, "C'mon guys, we're going to the mall." The family piles into the car and off they go. At the mall they shop for a while, then have lunch. The kids catch a movie while Mom and Dad browse the book store. At the mall he sees a couple of other guys. One has a Spiderman shirt and mask on. The other guy is wearing a stuffed Mickey Mouse head and a black waist-coat. They don't notice each other. Later, the family goes back home. What a great Saturday.

Notice anything odd about that tale? It's not a trick question. Yeah, you got it: the whole Batman thing. What's up with that? Clearly a freak, no? Who the frack does that? Maybe as a joke - once.

But my neighbour? He does it pretty much every Saturday. Sometimes he does it on weeknights when he takes the kids to play baseball. Two weeks ago they went to a BBQ and he wore the same outfit. Who dresses up and goes about their daily business - on a regular basis - dressed like a movie character? That's just weird.

Now let's make a tiny change to our story:

"My next door neighbour gets up on an average Saturday morning. No different than you or me, he has breakfast with his wife and kids, he brushes his teeth, combs his hair, and gets dressed. He puts on his underwear first, then his socks. He pulls on a T-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans. Lastly he dons an Oakland A's jersey and cap. The name written on the shirt is 'Bowen,' their catcher.

He calls to the kids, "C'mon guys, we're going to the mall." The family piles into the car and off they go. At the mall they shop for a while, then have lunch. At the mall he sees a couple of other guys. One has a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt on with 'Sundin' written across his back. The other guy is wearing a Tampa Bay Rays shirt and matching cap. His name on the shirt says 'Kazmir.' They don't notice each other. Later, they all go home. What a great Saturday."

Why does that second story sound so much more normal? But none of those men were 'Bowen,' 'Sundin,' or 'Kazmir.' They weren't even close. They were middle-aged fathers wearing the sports jerseys of their heroes, of guys they think are cool. Maybe they are guys whose lives they'd kinda like to live.

But if they all walked around the mall dressed as Superheroes, we'd make so much fun of them they'd likely have to move to another town. Or at least they'd have to find a secret identity.

My point? A guy walking around the mall or the airport or a restaurant or the Home Depot in a sports jersey, decked out like his fantasy sports hero, is just as freakin' dorky as a guy walking around the mall in a Batman outfit.

I'm just saying.

On the other hand, this look is totally OK by me.

Frankenstein: It's Alive!

2009-09-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

If this doesn't scare the Sweet Bejesus out of you, I don't know what would.

Oh, maybe this would!

Just sayin'

Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008)

2008-08-30T21:41:00.001-04:00

I can't for the life of me remember how I found out about the remarkable life of Randy Pausch. But I am deeply saddened by the news of his death. It's left me miserable.

I - for one - often wonder how well I will handle the news of my impending demise. For those of us who remain, Randy has left a benchmark few can hope to reach. To have the fortitude and foresite to leave such an incredible and meaningful legacy, such as Randy has done, is an inspiration to us all.

Check out these two links as a start:

Randy's Diagnosis and Prognosis - Summary
Randy's Update Page at Carnegie Mellon

Most importantly, his inspirational last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University can be found here.

And more of his recent appearances are here.

UPDATE: CBS News did a nice update of Randy's life here at CBS

At the end of it all, I hope I can leave as meaningful a legacy, for my family, wife, and children. But most of all for me ... I want it all to have meant something ...

2012: The Year the Internet Dies

2008-06-02T19:52:00.006-04:00

I've been following the net neutrality issue with a keen eye.
I'm not a FileSharer; I don't use P2P. I haven't even taken a position on the subject. I can see pros and cons to the matter. I suppose, if you were to press me, I believe that the buyer of content has rights just as the seller/creator; and I subscribe to a fair use policy (let me buy it, let me make personal copies, don't let me resell anything nor redistribute on a mass scale).

But that's neither here nor there.

I am developing a growing concern over the long-term impact recent regulatory incursions by ISPs and government bodies will have over the future of the Internet; particularly with respect to traffic shaping as it leads to content control.

Today, the net neutrality debate surrounds the rights of ISPs to shape their traffic when they see congestion. Makes sense so far. Using a variety of diagnostics and statistics , they claim that P2P networks are taking a disproportionately large amount of bandwidth versus the number of users and that the ISP's networks can't cope with all that and still deliver useful bandwidth to its customers.
I'm not going to try and cover the details of the issue; they are complex and lengthy and you can read all about it here.

What I find concerning are three things that the debate has uncovered.

First, in its response to a complaint over traffic shaping, filed with the CRTC by the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), Bell Canada responded:

"The introduction of traffic shaping was a necessary measure to manage investments in the network to address the congestion at peak periods. Since traffic shaping has been introduced, Bell Canada has observed that non-P2P traffic has significantly increased during peak periods. This increase is likely the result of two main events: 1) other non-P2P types of traffic such as streaming are growing at a faster pace than in prior years; and 2) non-P2P traffic is now able to use up and flow more freely using the bandwidth previously occupied by P2P traffic."

Bell Canada has a congestion problem regardless of the source of traffic!! P2P was easy to pick out and pick off, but its bandwidth consumption has now replaced and is being consumed by "other non-P2P types of traffic such as streaming ..."

So to follow Bell Canada's logic, if P2P bandwidth consumption led to a need for proactive net management, and now in its place 'streaming' content is filling the same bandwidth, then they will need to start traffic shaping everything; all sources of bandwidth consumption will need to be managed directly until they get to -- what? No consumption??

My second concern stems from the same CRTC submission. Bell Canada provides two charts, a consumption chart and a bandwidth chart.

The first chart below illustrates the growth of traffic (in Gigabits per second) in various parts of Bell Canada's network for the years 2004 to 2008 while the second chart illustrates the growth of capacity in the network for the same period.

Uhmmm. I'm seeing 125 G/bits of demand versus about 420 G/bits of DSLAM capacity. Is that what you're seeing?

In response to the obvious Bell Canada adds some confusion: "Although capacity is shown to be at all times above the total traffic demand, these figures can be misleading since they are simply averages of traffic measured at specific moments in time and are not able to reflect the peak traffic usage every day."

Huh? Those charts show there is about 295 G/bits of unused bandwidth - or about 2.4x more available headroom. How much freaking stuff were the FileSharers supposedly downloading??? I am more inclined to believe this story is about network mismanagement.

Lastly, it seems my idle concerns weren't big enough. On this website my petty Libertarian fears get wrapped up and injected with steroids. When I consider the theories posed by these European activists, who claim traffic shaping is the thin edge of the wedge, I get all wobbly and start mumbling. Their unnamed 'sources' claim that the new model for the Internet (due by 2012) is the old model for television programming: with advanced traffic shaping, your Internet service with come like cable TV channel packages.

"$29.95 for HighSpeed that includes CNN.com, ABC.com, and YouTube. Add another 5 websites for just $4.99"

While I don't think this is the plan -- yet -- I do think it could happen and by granting ISPs the right to manage not the data but rather the content based on its type and source, that would be a first dangerous step in that very bad direction. Imagine how shitty that would be!!!

I'm just saying ...

Technorati Tags: net neutrality,Canada,ISPs,traffic shaping,death of the net

I've Always Loved Flying ...

2008-04-13T20:49:00.022-04:00

... and this new band from Cardiff, Wales reminds me why.

I discovered People In Planes about 6 months ago when a friend played a copy of As Far As the Eye Can See, their debut album. I was blown away. The sound was rock, retro, contemporary, emotional, engerized, poetic, and melodic. ALL AT ONCE!!

I was blown away.

6 months later the CD still occupies a revered slot in my car's CD player, up there with Linkin Park, Chromeo, Justice, and Simple Plan. (Yeah, my tastes vary)

Last weekend, I won the privilege to see the band in "concert" - a private 2-hour set so they could record their soon-to-be- released new album, Beyond the Horizon, for a North American TV show profiling new bands.

Let me just say this: their current single release from the album, "Pretty Buildings," is just the tip of a very big iceberg!!!! Just as the first album had diverse tracks like "Token Trappped Woman" juxtaposed against "If you Talk to Much," the new album rocked with similar and engaging contrasts. The band was amazing live - the dynamic between Gareth and Peter (who rocked out better than anyone I've ever seen!) made it a show within a show.

I genuinely hope this band gets the recognition and play it deserves; Beyond the Horizon certainly has the legs to do it.

Sometimes Material Just Writes Itself ...

2008-04-06T00:52:00.005-04:00

Seinfeld Flips over Vintage Car on Highway

The Associated Press has reported that Bee Movie star, Jerry Seinfeld, was in a car accident in N.Y. state last weekend. The 53-year-old comedian was driving his 1967 Fiat BTM when his brakes failed. To make matters worse, the emergency brake wouldn't to stop the car either. Seinfeld, it was reported, was able to swerve the vehicle to avoid the intersection, eventually coming to a halt when it flipped over just before the highway.

AP went on to say, 'The uninjured actor joked, "Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do". He added, "It is not something I plan to make a habit of."'

Two things: this redeems him as funny; especially after Bee Movie. And, when the hell did Jerry Seinfeld turn 53!!!!!!!!

Only in Toronto

2008-04-04T21:53:00.003-04:00

I can't resist posting this. It's too, too funny. And the best part? The moment of Zen, to quote Jon Stewart? That is towards the end when the bicycle cops show up. Priceless.

I'm just saying.

This Makes the X-Files Look Like Disney

2008-04-01T20:36:00.012-04:00

"BBC: First UK hybrid embryos
created"

"Scientists have created part-human, part-animal hybrid embryos for the first time in the UK."

Link to video story here.

If you can get past the fact the BBC published this on April Fool's Day, this newstory reads like an episode of the X-Files. Season 6, Episode 11 to be precise:

Two Fathers
Original Air Date: 7 February 1999
After being gone for almost a year following her abduction, Cassandra Spender reappears, in perfect physical condition as the first successful alien/human hybrid.

It's only after I watched the BBC report that I calmed down a bit. When I first read that headline I imagined a Human/Wolf cross, or maybe Human/Wolverine. We know how those turn out. Not good. I was worried.

But, with typical UK humour I suppose, our intrepid scientists chose to cross this planet's dominant species with an equally auspicious, 4-legged equivalent. They used bovine DNA. That's right, we won't be able to walk the streets safely at night for fear of a Human/Cow attack. I mean, at least we'll be able to hear them coming, moooing down the street.

If you kill one you'll get a nice leather jacket out of it.

And if it were Holstein DNA, we could rid the world of racism while we're at it: everyone would be black and white.

I'm just saying.

Battlestar Galactica - The Final Season

2008-03-29T22:19:00.008-04:00

Ok. I'm conflicted.

I can't wait to see the final Battlestar Galactica season. It promises to be bold, action-packed, and full of surprises.

And I couldn't care less about this final season. It promises to be formulaic, linear, and affected.

What's wrong with me? (rhetorical)

I've spent a lot of time pondering this question and I think I have it. And the news is bad. If I am right, then what's wrong with BG also means there is something wrong with Lost. And probably something wrong with Heroes. And it means there is something wrong with Gilligan's Island.

That something is this: each of these shows are built on a premise that is ultimately focused on escape. From Cylons, from the Island, from the Corporation, and from the, er, well, the Island again. And because we have this singular focus, the storylines, at the very top-level, are by their architecture, linear.

We, after all is said and done, are waiting to see if they fail or succeed. Live or die. This leaves our writers with a painful conundrum. They either get to it and tell us what happens. Or they drag it out, meandering for a few seasons, telling us back-stories and side-stories. But this is merely avoidance, ignoring the 2,000 lb. elephant in the room. In the end, they have to deliver on the premise. Safe or not safe?

Disappointment, then, is built unavoidably into this model. Because no matter how engaging the characters, how fleshed-out the story-lines, no matter how deep, relevant, and allegorical the plotlines may be, at the end of the day, we forget all that and say, "Oh, they survived." Or, "Jeez, too bad. They all died." We forget all the meandering and depth, the false starts, red-herrings, plot twists, and nudity (just checking that you're still reading). And it's all boiled down to 'safe.' Or 'not safe.'

So on April 4, we begin a short journey to discover that the humans survive the Cylons. Or not. But that's all it will be.

I'm just saying.

Let me know when you're scared ...

2008-03-29T22:00:00.006-04:00

At first I found this compelling, interesting.

But after a short while it became freaky, eerie, and a little scary.

http://cubo.cc/

After moving your mouse around for a bit, just be still. Wait. Watch. Tell me you're not scared.

I have something for Sarah Silverman that I can't explain ...

2008-03-27T12:47:00.008-04:00

Can anyone figure out what it is??

Anyone?

It must be that she's funny.

Dead Pixel R.I.P.

2008-03-21T22:27:00.006-04:00

I am sad to report the death of Pixel 2089, upper left corner of my Panasonic Viera TV.

Pixel 2089 served us well from August 2007 to March 2008. A short life but one that saw many season premieres, many more season finales, and quite a bit of porn. Pixel 2089 worked hard, delivering latency free images, vibrant gaming experiences, and at least 1 or 2 Academy Award winning films in its lifetime.

Pixel 2089 is survived by Pixel 0 through Pixel 2,073,600.

R.I.P.

(All kidding aside I am beside myself about this frickin' dead pixel. I discovered it while I was going through my burn-in trauma (below). Panasonic and Future Shop are going to hear about it. Stay tuned!)

Image Burn on a Plasma TV

2008-03-21T22:00:00.012-04:00

I got totally freaked out this morning.

It happened when I turned on our PS3 and noticed, over the login screen, that I had PIXEL BURN on my (pretty much) brand new Panasonic Viera plasma TV!! You know, the kind of frickin' pixel burn that Panasonic TVs are not supposed to suffer from!

Well, I went nuts. I tried to keep it together, tried not to lose it. I kept it on the inside, if you don't count the cold sweat and tears.

My wife and I bought Rock Band for the family, a little Easter present if you will. Anyone who has this game or it's cousin, Guitar Hero, knows how addictive the gameplay can be. So we've clocked a few hours this past week. Seriously, not too geeky but with an 8-year old, nearly 4-year old , and the two of us, probably about 2 or 3 hours a day. And that's what was burned in. The frickin' power bar and the star bar from Rock Band! OMG.

Well, veeerrrryyy long story later (and the usual exhaustive WiseGuy diagnostics) and the burn has faded.

Here's what you need to know: if your TV is two years or younger, and unless you've been using your plasma for commercial purposes (think AirCanada check-in information signage), then you needn't worry too much about burn-in. Yes, you will probably get some latent images from pictures with sustained imagery (network logos, in-game HUDs, even the program guide if you're slow to choose) but that burn-in will fade after 20-30 minutes of regular usage.

I can't tell you how much Googling I had to do to discover - then verify - this fact, but it's true. Some pundits recommend running a white screen images for a few minutes, others suggest the opposite, colour clutter. I did both and at the end of half an hour the ghosting was gone.

Whew!!!

And ... I'm ... blogging

2008-03-21T20:49:00.007-04:00

Well, I wasn't sure if the day would come. I'm not even sure I wanted it to come. But it did.

So here I am.

Blogging.

I can't fight my geekness. It's not even inner geekness. It's like right out in the open geekness.

What to expect? Anything. Nothing. Let's go with nothing. I like the bar looooow. You'll see.