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Stephen Mack
I'm a resident of Silicon Valley, father of two small children, the Director of TiVoCast Operations for TiVo (10 years now), and I care about things.
This week's new movies: Twilight Saga: New Moon (rotten, 30%) ... Planet 51 (rotten, 15% [ouch!]) ... Bad Lieutenant: New Orleans (fresh, 85%) ... Blind Side (freshish, 68%) ... Broken Embraces (fresh, 80%) plus more - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movies...
Derrick liked this
There's also the new John Woo/Tony Leung flick, Red Cliff (fresh, 87%) in limited release, but not playing near me. I have to laugh at how low the Planet 51 score is. There's no chance I'm seeing any of these in the theater anytime soon. Maybe I'll catch 2012.
- Stephen Mack
from Bookmarklet
When's Fantastic Mr. Fox gonna play in the Bay Area?
- Stephen Mack
Winfrey to announce Friday show will end in 2011 (USATODAY.com) - http://www.usatoday.com/life...
Bindu Reddy, Ciaoenrico, Harold and Mellissa Jane liked this
In other news: Oprah Winfrey has apparently made enough money to last for the rest of her life. Seriously, though, 25 seasons is very impressive.
- Stephen Mack
from Bookmarklet
Surely she's covered just about every imaginable topic? Well done. I'd be wanting a break after that long.
- Mellissa Jane
If it doesn't end until 2011, that will be one heck of a long show
- Davis Freeberg
Seriously, did the Onion write this headline?
- Davis Freeberg
Davis, :) "We're entering hour 10,000 now, a bit more than halfway. Now YOU have a new coffee maker and YOU have an espresso injection and YOU have caffeine pills and YOU have your eyelids sewn open and..."
- Stephen Mack
wow. Curious as to what they'll put in that time slot now.
- pea
Akiva to announce presently that he doesn't give a shit.
- Akiva Moskovitz
After that - the world will end.
- Jeremy
Akiva, she may not be to your taste, but she's undeniably a huge influence and extremely powerful. This is certainly newsworthy.
- Stephen Mack
YEAY! NO MORE MESSIAH FOR ASSHOLE GIRLFRIENDS AND MOMS!
- Ciaoenrico
I can't watch Opera because she's so good at what she does, that I get all emotional during the program, no thanks, I'll save that for football.
- Davis Freeberg
Raw Video: Policeman Vs. Kitty - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Jennifer Dittrich, Kurt Starnes, Steven Bryden and 11 other people liked this
I said PET ME!!!!! LOVE ME!! COME ON!!
- Rachel Lea Fox
This seems strangely familiar *looks to his own shoulder*
- Tsali, The Native of FF
AWESOME
- Lo
Insert theme from Jaws
- triple t
WTF!!!! LOL IRL!!!! Can't stop laughing
- rowlikeagirl
Your wish my command http://tinyurl.com/yh28yb4
- Davis Freeberg
Davis, that's very funny, well done!
- Stephen Mack
Beloved boardgame Settlers of Catan comes to iPhone (CNET Reviews) (Plus my own review is http://www.zeigen.com/blog...) - http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19...
Rob H., Mark Trapp, Rachel Lea Fox and 3 other people liked this
From the (brief) review: "...there's more than enough variety here to keep Catan newcomers and veterans alike gaming happily for hours, days, even weeks on end. And given that the actual board game routinely sells for around $40, the $4.99 iPhone edition is practically the bargain of the century." My review posted at http://www.zeigen.com/blog...
- Stephen Mack
from Bookmarklet
I'll review myself tonight when I get a chance to try it out.
- Stephen Mack
Awesome! I love this game!!
- Georgia Diehl
Still my favorite board game ever.
- Stephen Mack
Android version coming at some point. :)
- EricaJoy
Erica: Yeah sure! :)
- Stephen Mack
They are already working on it. No release date set yet though.
- EricaJoy
My review is here: http://friendfeed.com/zeigen...
- Stephen Mack
No multiplayer other than passing the phone around? Well that's silly. Looks like they rushed to get it out the door. Hopefully more features will come in rapid releases.
- Kevin Fox
Kevin: Fully agree. But to be honest for any kind of iPhone game I'm looking more for single-player experiences anyway.
- Stephen Mack
I think we should get together and play in person!
- Dario Gomez
I bought it. Was a lot of fun while I was sick in bed
- Benjamin Golub
Benjamin, hope you're feeling better. Dario, would be great to set up a game night.
- Stephen Mack
I am feeling much better, thanks!
- Benjamin Golub
I'm withdrawing my "buy it" recommendation until the next bug fix release. 3 of the last 4 games I've played have got stuck during the computer players' turn. Also, save game doesn't work.
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
I'm also noticing it's pretty unstable. Also, the AI isn't very good. I've won about 90% of the games I've played. It is fun, but of course it still suffers from the game mechanic of "it's really easy to loose the game during setup."
- Cyrus Lendvay
Cyrus, I noticed that I win a lot but attributed it to my superior strategy and general brilliance. :)
- Stephen Mack
Catan iPhone app review - http://www.zeigen.com/blog...
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Mark Trapp, Felicia Yue, Private Sanjeev and 3 other people liked this
OMG!
- Kate Schmidt
Hi Kate -- go get it!
- Stephen Mack
I'm withdrawing my "buy it" recommendation until the next bug fix release. 3 of the last 4 games I've played have got stuck during the computer players' turn. Also, save game doesn't work.
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
Unique New York
red leather, yellow leather
- Dario Gomez
Peggy Bowbreck
- Stephen Mack
I'm not the pheasant plucker I'm the pheasant pluckers son, and I'll pluck feathers til the feather plucker comes.
- Mellissa Jane
Pick a little, talk a little.
- Kevin Fox
Willie's really weary.
- Stephen Mack
@Mellissa: If you're keen on stunning kites and cunning stunts, buy a cunning stunning stunt kite.
- Stephen Mack
Ah shucks, six stick shifts stuck shut.
- Stephen Mack
Yellow baby buggy bumpers
- Anika
On a sleeted sheet I sit.
- Neal Krummell
(Anika, that's interesting: Growing up we always used "rubber baby buggy bumpers.")
- Stephen Mack
Yes, it's supposed to be rubber. I was talking while typing.
- Anika
She sells cshs by the C shore.
- Stephen Mack
And Dario, in England we said "red lorry, yellow lorry."
- Stephen Mack
lemon liniment lemon liniment lemon
- EricaJoy
I shot the city sheriff.
- Stephen Mack
Let's say you're framed for a crime. You're totally innocent, but you know that it looks bad, and there's no way to prove you were framed. You're offered a plea bargain: You plead guilty, you become a felon, you serve 1 year. If you don't take the bargain and lose the trial, you face 10 years. What would you do?
Kol Tregaskes, ffcode, Morgan Haley and 4 other people liked this
(Purely hypothetical, of course.)
- Stephen Mack
No way at all? Oh, that's a tough one. Because I want to say I'd plead my innocence till I was blue in the face but no way do I want to be in jail for ten years. Even if I was told by someone recently that I'd do okay in jail. That, by the way, was supposed to be a compliment. :D heh.
- pea
I'd go to trial. And would obtain a very expensive lawyer.
- Dario Gomez
But pea, how "okay" can you really do in jail? :) I asked this because I had a nightmare last night that was basically sort of like this question (if you removed the random appearance of my high school math teacher from the dream, and the fact that the prison was in the arctic; I digress).
- Stephen Mack
What's the crime? There are different levels of prison and I could manage minimum security I think.
- Sarah June
Tough part is that most people given this kind of deal are told there's no way for them to prove their innocence, whether it's true or not. And if there is a way, even if it's unbeknownst to any party at the time, it makes it much harder for that evidence to exonerate when you already have a confession. My philosophy is 'if you didn't do it, don't lie and say you did, no matter the reason.'
- Kevin Fox
I would go to trial for most of the reasons Kevin listed. Once you confess and file "guilty" of your own volition, it is nearly impossible to have that conviction overturned.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Kevin: Plenty of people take the plea and still maintain their innocence -- corporations do that with class actions all the time. "Without admitting guilt, we are offering each of our customers this $10 coupon." What if it was 50 years instead of 10, and what if you determined (through the magic of hypothetical questions) that you only had a 20% chance of being found innocent in trial. Do you still refuse the plea?
- Stephen Mack
Isn't there a "no contest" plea for just this situation?
- Bruce Lewis
from fftogo
Sarah: Let's say the crime is murder/manslaughter and it's not minimum security.
- Stephen Mack
Oh, I didn't say I'd do okay. I was told that by someone who has spent time in jail. Apparently she thinks I'm bitchy enough to survive. I don't, however, ever want to test that theory out.
- pea
Most of the plea bargains require guilty, nothing less - those conditions are stipulated by the prosecutor as part of the bargain. You don't necessarily have to have a confession, but the presiding judge often requires it in cases with significant jail time.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Then I'll say no. I would not plead guilty to that.
- Sarah June
You're confusing civil and criminal trials. You can "settle" a civil suit with neither side admitting guilt, but a criminal trial will always end in either guilty, not guilty, or a mistrial.
- Glen Campbell, B.A.
Glen, that depends on the district. Some district offer nolo contendere, which is basically, "I cannot contest the charges."
- The Letter M
I know someone who made a deal after 4 years of trials (the DA kept bringing new charges against him) until he finally ran out of money. He plead out and didn't get an jail time but had probation for a few years. He really ended up regretting it because it pretty much ruined his life - even though he had gone through 2-3 trials and been found not guilty he just gave up. I do not really...
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- Andrizzle Gizzle
I'd get a TV show on AMC
- Brian Johns
Stephen, I don't understand. Your question is whether you'd accept a plea bargain where you'd plead guilty for a reduced sentence. When corporations settle without accepting guilt that's completely different (civil vs criminal, and they're explicitly not admitting guilt). You can't plead 'guilty with my fingers crossed'.
- Kevin Fox
Also, I've thought a lot about this (This is NOT me): http://cbs2chicago.com/topstor... "Police said Fox gave them a statement that led them to believe he killed the girl. But Fox filed a federal lawsuit in November claiming detectives subjected him to threats, lies and promises of a deal during a 14 1/2-hour interrogation."
- Kevin Fox
What a wonderful sort of prisoner's dilemma. Since the probability of me loosing the trial is not defined, let's say it's 0.5. The probability of me going to jail, if I accept the charges, is 1. So, facing 0,5×10 or 1×1, I (statistically) would go for the latter. But I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WOULD DO IN REAL LIFE, see...
- Поребрики
Yes, I posted this as a prisoner's dilemma, to see how willing people would be to accept the plea (despite their factual innocence) and face the stigma and challenge of a year in jail. My sense is that most of us would not take the plea in the scenario as presented, even though, as Угги сыну Льву posted, statistically it seems smartest to take the plea.
- Stephen Mack
Kevin, that's a horrific story about your namesake. And you're right, I got off track there about the extent you could maintain your innocence despite pleading guilty.
- Stephen Mack
Statistically it is almost NEVER smartest to take the plea since having a felony crime against you would cost you way more than any trial lawyer ever could. You might keep your meager savings, but you'll never be able to find good work again in this country unless you are EXTREMELY highly skilled in a field.
- Alex Scoble
Reminds me the Ultimatum Game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...
- Поребрики
Except that the stakes are much higher in the above example than in the Ultimatum game. Even if the amount of money was 10 million dollars, the stakes wouldn't be as great as one's life.
- Alex Scoble
do I have to get anally raped in prison during that one year?
- Morgan Haley
Alex, since the consequences are not defined, nor are circumstances, this, basically looks like a prisoners dillema, yet there is no second player. So, the question is: how would you play, if it's just for yourself?
- Поребрики
Yeah, circumstances include the answer to that question of Morgan Haley :-)
- Поребрики
good question harder answer..............cannot decide
- VAL D.
the number one reason I don't break the law at the felony level? because i don't want to be anally raped in prison. and i don't want to have to join the dumb ass arian brotherhood just to stay alive. prison is hard shit people. for real. it's fucked up big time and i hope to God i never, ever have to serve time.
- Morgan Haley
and the number 2 reason...because it would be wrong....i think i have my priorities set just right.
- Morgan Haley
The consequences have been defined...Long jail times. Thusly we must assume that the crime in question is a felony crime. There's no way to win by pleading on this one. It's simply not a dilemma. However, if you make the jail time 6 months or 3 months, then we are pretty sure that you are pleading not to a felony, but to a misdemeanor, in which case the answer would be take the plea deal. As it is stated, however, you have to go for broke.
- Alex Scoble
And Morgan, in the example, you are innocent and unjustly accused.
- Alex Scoble
damn...that's the plot to sin city 'that yellow bastard'
- Black Lantern Satan
felon was a good movie :)
- ffcode
STEPHEN FRY: How I lost six stones [84 pounds] in just six months | Mail Online - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...
JSNFLMNG, Akiva Moskovitz, Scott of Two Countries and 4 other people liked this
From the article: "'I knew something had to be done. I'm 6ft 5in tall, but 21 stone [294 pounds] is too heavy. For the first month, I did without bread, potatoes and sugar, and the weight rolled off. Since then, I've stopped eating other types of food, such as red meat. I've continued to lose weight and feel much better for it. And I never thought I would say this, but I genuinely enjoy going to the gym. I spent years mocking them, but now I'm one of the converts. What has helped enormously has been the audio books I listen to while I'm walking. I've written myself a list of great novels and am slowly working my way through them.'"
- Stephen Mack
from Bookmarklet
One of my favorite comedic actors. He looks fantastic. Article says he wants to appear in "House" opposite Hugh Laurie. Would love to see a bit more of Fry and Laurie.
- Stephen Mack
I don't remember hearing the term stone before. Google says 1 stone = 14 pounds. Maybe I'll start using stones in normal conversation and see if any other Americans know what it is.
- Cristo
Cristo, you may enjoy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...: "The stone remains widely used within the United Kingdom and Ireland as a means of expressing human body weight. People in these countries normally describe themselves as weighing, for example, "11 stone 4" (11 stones and 4 pounds), rather than "72 kilograms" in most other countries, or "158 pounds" (the conventional...
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- Stephen Mack
So make sure you get the singular/plural right and you'll pass for a British native. Also be sure to use this phrase: "No supper for me, ta! But I'll have a pack of crisps."
- Stephen Mack
Having too many packs of crisps sounds like how to add a few stones to your weight. :)
- Cristo
This week's new movies: 2012 (rotten, 36%) ... Pirate Radio (rottenish, 57%) ... Fantastic Mr. Fox (fresh, 91%) ... The Messenger (fresh, 90%) ... Oh My God (rotten, 10%) ... and much more. - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movies...
Helen Sventitsky, April Buchheit, Paul Buchheit and 2 other people liked this
Yay!! Fantastic Mr. Fox is out!!!!
- Rachel Lea Fox
I have to admit I always think of Kevin when I see that movie title.
- Stephen Mack
Me too! But if you happen to catch him doing that whistle click click thing, please slap him for me! ;)
- Rachel Lea Fox
At least the whistling one is better than the one from 500 Days of Summer...
- Stephen Mack
*lol* I don't know, the 500 days of summer one can be embarrassing but is also fun and funny. The whistle click click one just gets on my nerves and is annoying. I think I prefer the 500 days of summer one.
- Rachel Lea Fox
But that's his thing. (Did you see it?)
- Stephen Mack
No, it wasn't showing at any of the theatres near us yet. I know it's his big thing, but it's still annoying!!
- Rachel Lea Fox
AMC's remake of "The Prisoner" premieres Sunday 8pm. Jim Caviezel & Ian McKellen! Set up a Season Pass on your @TiVo DVR http://www3.tivo.com/tivo-tc...
Véronique Rabuteau, RAPatton, T. Brent, technopeasant and 3 other people liked this
I loved the original. Must go read up on this. *scurries to google*
- Dario Gomez
Today's Basic Instructions is about The prisoner: http://www.basicinstructions.net/
- Brian Johns
Brian, that comic is great, thanks!
- Stephen Mack
Bumping this one as the weekend approaches.
- Stephen Mack
"Be seeing you!" Anyone else remember being thrilled when the bad guys started saying that on Babylon 5?
- Internet's Tad
At last. been a couple of years in the making.
- Damiano
Now that Mad Men's over for the season, I have something to look forward to...
- T. Brent, technopeasant
I wouldn't count on it.
- Damiano
Damiano, I am a bit worried. It would be far easier to botch this than improve it. You've heard bad reviews?
- Stephen Mack
Damiano: what have you heard?
- T. Brent, technopeasant
No, I read the orginal script a couple of years ago. It was good. It was a co-pro with Granada in UK but it's taken ages to get to screen...
- Damiano
Always a sniffy sign. My hopes are up but eager to see it online as soon as it's on USA network TV. When I mean original script, I read the pilot, first episode.
- Damiano
Tad, someday I'll watch Babylon 5 all the way through. Someday. Your comment just increased the likelihood of that happening by about 30%.
- Stephen Mack
Damiano: may I ask how you got to read the pilot? Are you in the 'industry'?
- T. Brent, technopeasant
I am. I met the drama commissioner from AMC in London probably three years ago now? She was looking for directors for the pilot.
- Damiano
*watches as people subscribe madly to Damiano*
- Stephen Mack
Does anyone know who ended up directing the pilot?
- Damiano
very cool... I continue to like friendfeed :)
- T. Brent, technopeasant
Love friendfeed but want notifications to react to my comments similar to FB.
- Damiano
I receive them on my Blackberry.
- T. Brent, technopeasant
Damiano, check the "Tools" link in the upper right -- several options for notification.
- Stephen Mack
Final bump!
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
still debating ..........to watch or not to watch
- VAL D.
I watched, interesting so far. I bit different from the original, but not bad so far.
- Dario Gomez
How Pumpkin Pie Is Made (KQ Morning Show) - http://www.kqrs.com/Article...
Brian Johns, Morgan Haley, Jesse Stay and 2 other people liked this
Your inner curmudgeon. Channel it. GO!
Ken Morley, Bette Cooper, CW™ and 4 other people liked this
"That's not bad bread, but when I was a boy, the Dutch Crunch had some real crunch to it. Snappy. Not like this weak, only semi-crunchy Dutch Crunch. Can you pass me more of that horseradish? It's not very strong but it makes your cooking taste much better."
- Stephen Mack
"The reason there are so many third party twitter apps? Because of how twitter.com sets such a low bar."
- Stephen Mack
"kids these days..."
- Brian Johns
"That's not music..."
- Brian Johns
GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
- Helen Sventitsky
This food is terrible. And the servings are too small!
- Ha3rvey (Free hugs!)
WHY DID THEY CLOSE THE LUBY'S
- Akiva Moskovitz
I thought we were going to Golden Corral!
- Ha3rvey (Free hugs!)
I miss Luby's.
- Rochelle
get off my cloud!
- VAL D.
get a job.
- Greg GuitarBuster
I have fond memories of the days when public phones had booths (with doors) around them so that I didn't have to hear your loud chattering as you natter on in all manner of public places, including public bathrooms.
- Spidra Webster
You know, when I was a kid, we didn't have that Twitter thing... if we wanted to tweet at each other, we had to tie rocks to the backs of pigeons and throw them at each other. Talk about a tweet! Damn fool kids...
- Bette Cooper
rofl @ Bette
- VAL D.
Hurry up Ethyl, we're late for the early bird dinner! It's almost 3:30pm, for crissakes!
- Ken Gidley
Damn hippies these days
- Davis Freeberg
You need a haircut!
- Ha3rvey (Free hugs!)
You call that football with your sissy helmets and pads and cameras and dancing? Where's the mud? Where's the blood? Why do the players have all of their teeth?
- Keith Pelczarski
Zeigen’s credo - http://www.zeigen.com/blog...
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Dario Gomez, G. Sigh, Ken Gidley and 2 other people liked this
Love!
- Georgia Diehl
Thanks Georgia! (The photo, or the article too? :) )
- Stephen Mack
Well, the photo IS cute, but I really was referring to the article :)
- Georgia Diehl
Ah, phew. Thank you! I was working on that for a while.
- Stephen Mack
It's obvious that you did. I really enjoyed reading it!
- Georgia Diehl
I have a question, this is in no way an attempt to convince you or even to push my own beliefs, I just want to hear your take on something. You mentioned that you don't believe in things that are unproven (I am over-simplifying for brevity). What is your take on the powers of our own brains? We don't know or understand even a small portion of what our brains can do or even all of how we...
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- Rachel Lea Fox
Rachel, I believe our brains are very powerful indeed, and I agree with you that we know very little overall. But there's lots of proof in the power of our minds to heal our bodies, starting with the placebo effect -- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki....
- Stephen Mack
This is a good example of a well-documented effect without a very good explanation of the underlying mechanism. But it's a good question you asked -- I don't have to understand something to believe in it, if there's good evidence.
- Stephen Mack
Cool. That is what I was unclear on with your explanation.
- Rachel Lea Fox
paraskevidekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th (Wiki) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...
Why exactly are we supposed to be scared today? One origin theory, from Wiki: "[A]uthor Charles Panati, one of the leading authorities on the subject of 'Origins' maintains that the superstition can be traced back to ancient myth: 'The actual origin of the superstition, though, appears also to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil - a gathering of thirteen - and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as "Witches' Sabbath."'"
- Stephen Mack
from Bookmarklet
And btw, "triskaidekaphobia" is just fear of the number 13.
- Stephen Mack
Hey I was just about to write that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...
- G. Sigh
13 is my favorite number!! Also the day I got married! Though not on a Friday. Friday's are hard for weddings.
- Rachel Lea Fox
So Rachel has triskaidekaphilia!
- Stephen Mack
*lol* Awesome!
- Rachel Lea Fox
Swing Dance --- Belt Flip - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Alex Scoble and Lo liked this
I must learn how to do this.
- Lo
I wish I was brave enough to even try this. Imagine how often they crashed and burned before mastering the move.
- Stephen Mack
That's true, but I fully expect to hurt myself in the normal course of daily life. Being able to do that would be worth it, though you'd need a partner... I can't imagine anyone would want to volunteer to be kicked in the head :)
- Lo
I would estimate I'd need to be kicked in the head 500 times to master this move. Or 1,500 times if I'm not allowed to kick my partner in the head.
- Stephen Mack
The height and weight difference must have to be pretty small to actually learn this without a hospital visit or crying and giving up.
- Heather
Hybrid TV - TiVo New Zealand ad - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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why isn't that in the US?
- Rachel Lea Fox
Rachel, check your Video on Demand menu -- we offer services in the U.S. very similar to what was just launched in New Zealand.
- Stephen Mack
Oh, did you mean TV ads? We sometimes have them, but they're very expensive. This one from New Zealand is from Hybrid TV, not us. Have you noticed the TiVo banner ad campaign though?
- Stephen Mack
Is the answer to this question "no"?
Possibly.
- Neal Krummell
yes
- Mike Nencetti
Is the previously asked question "loaded?"
- Jeremy
I think so
- VAL D.
That depends.
- Kenton
Yes. #iseewhatididthar
- Miss Elle
negative. :P
- Dario Gomez
Epic marriage proposal via movie trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Skyler Call, Carl Haynes and Jérôme Flipo liked this
Ah, the G.F.Y. Awards, been wanting to give those for some time...
- Neal Krummell
This is pretty epic though. From the very detailed description: "What I had done was make an entire movie trailer that had actors portraying both Tracey and I at different times in our lives, both present day and in the future."
- Stephen Mack
So is he saying that they're going to die in an epic plane crash in the future?
- Jesse Stay
Jesse, that was certainly my first impression. Maybe not the opener most of us would have chosen.
- Stephen Mack
Seemed to work for him, though.
- Stephen Mack
In his comment, he says that his future wife has a recurring dream that she will die in a plane crash.
- Carl Haynes
Carl, I have that about Tornadoes
- Jesse Stay
They aren't going to die in a plane crash. That was her dream. She fell asleep because of the wine and her dream was affected by her husband pressing the button to call the flight attendant.
- Skyler Call
d'oh, you are right Skyler
- Carl Haynes
The Making of Jive Talk from Airplane! - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Mark Trapp, Cyrus Lendvay, Ňicķ and 5 other people liked this
Very interesting "behind the scenes" clip about one of the funniest bits from Airplane.
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
I love that they subtitle the actors in Jive when they're speaking normally!
- Brian Johns
heh, yeah, Brian, that part's hilarious. Wonder where this is from -- DVD extras?
- Stephen Mack
I'm not sure where this is from. I have the cheapo version with Airplane! and Top Secret on one disc with NO special features at all. I should investigate a Collectors Edition of that movie since it was very influential in my formative years.
- Brian Johns
Time is money. Money is the root of all evil. Therefore one should be obligated to waste as much time as possible.
Dario Gomez, chaz2b and Georgia Diehl liked this
SyFy tweets "no pickup" for Dollhouse - http://twitter.com/Syfy...
Text of tweet is: "Looks like Fox finally canceled Dollhouse. (No, I don't think we'll pick it up.)"
- Stephen Mack
What, you live at McDonalds? Wow!
Amber, Random Time Lord, Anna Haro, Anika and 11 other people liked this
Or "McDonald" [sic]
- Stephen Mack
from email
Nah, that's the dining room. Don't need a dishwasher.
- John E. Bredehoft
Train them early.
- EricaJoy
I think it's the box they're referring to - it's for people that live in boxes
- Jesse Stay
Why waste money on pretend Doctor sets, when you can inspire your kids to try and make a go at the fast food industry.
- Davis Freeberg
An excellent point, Davis. The scary thing to me is that there was a full line of McDonalds toys at this store (a Toys-R-Us outlet in the Stanford Mall). I took a couple of other photos too. Do kids actually like these toys, or does McDonalds just want them to? Either way, it's an excellent brand extension by McDonalds, but it makes me sad.
- Stephen Mack
The same toys existed when we were kids too. I had a toy cash register. They just weren't branded like this.
- Otto
I think that when I was a kid, I had a similar toy set, but it might have been a generic burger stand. I can't say that it hurt me any, but I do remember eating a lot of playdough as a child.
- Davis Freeberg
I don't mind cash register toys. I do find the branding to be questionable. It seems like a fairly transparent attempt to get kids hooked on McDonalds at a young age. (But mostly I posted this because of the silly "WOW! Just Like Home" label with the misspelling of McDonalds.)
- Stephen Mack
They don't need branding like this to appeal to children. The Happy Meal covers that just fine. I loved those things when I was a kid. Of course, McDonald's burgers now make me physically ill. I'll stick with Wendy's. :)
- Otto
It is really hard to find un-branded toys these days (We finally found a play food set at costco that didn't have any branding) Between movie tie-ins and disney almost every toy is branded. I think there may be a market opportunity in specializing in unbranded toys.
- Carl Haynes
I prefer toys that let you create things. Legos (in big box bulk form only, not the little crap sets). Erector Sets. Heck, even Lincoln Logs. Most of the more specialized toys went unused when I was a kid. Had more fun with the cardboard box.
- Otto
Well said, Otto.
- Stephen Mack
a box house or fort was always the best
- VAL D.
I posted on this thing a couple of years ago. I'm stlil at loss about it. When we were kids, we played doctor, astronaut, even class (someone was a teacher and bossed the others around). We never played McDonalds.
- Anika
The way it's posted, the photo is funny. However, FYI, "Just Like Home" is the company that produces these toys (along with quite a few others).
- Curtiss Grymala
Regarding all of the comments about playing with cash registers and the comments about branded toys: a) I think playing with cash registers is actually a good thing. They help teach young children basic math, they help them understand that things actually cost money, etc. Some of the newer cash register toys are really pretty amazing, having realistic bar codes that can be scanned,...
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- Curtiss Grymala
To your first point, Curtiss, I agree, toys that promote imaginative play or math-related play are usually good toys, and that includes toy cash registers. I don't even think this toy illustrated is a "bad" toy, just not one I'd choose or recommend because of the associated branding.
- Stephen Mack
I agree with you, Stephen. I, personally, wouldn't buy a McDonald's-branded toy for my kids (and I definitely would not pay extra just to get the McDonald's name on it). However, I am guilty of buying other "branded" toys (and collectibles), for me and for my kids. I've always been a fan of branded Pez dispensers, and have also collected M&M-branded toys for most of my life. I can speak...
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- Curtiss Grymala
When you read the word "virtually" in a sentence, the best translation is "not."
Shey, Jamaican of FF, Helen Sventitsky, Rodfather and 4 other people liked this
That's virtually true.
- Cristo
Maybe it's true in virtual reality.
- Stephen Mack
Examples: "We were virtually on time." "It's virtually free."
- Stephen Mack
I think "almost" is probably a better translation.
- Cristo
When you read the word "almost" in a sentence, the best translation is "not."
- Stephen Mack
"Pretty much"
- Maxamad
When you read the words "pretty much" in a sentence, the best translation is "not."
- Stephen Mack
Absolutism is virtually dead.
- Maxamad
"not" is a binary or logical operator. "almost" works in a multi-state (more than two) system.
- Cristo
That's virtually untrue.
- jcunwired
Cristo, I'm mostly a "shades of gray" kind of guy. Every now and then I like to remind myself that sometimes words like "virtually" and "almost" and "nearly" and "under one perspective" are weasel words designed to hide the fact that the deadline or cost or target wasn't met.
- Stephen Mack
Depends on the context. Sometimes they are just words that communicate information. E.g. "It's almost lunchtime", or "I'm almost done contributing to this thread."
- Cristo
Here's where I try not to mention the cliche involving the word "horseshoes."
- Stephen Mack
*launches grenade at Stephen*
- Cristo
You only blew up my non-essential limbs.
- Stephen Mack
Is that what you call him? :)
- Cristo
I like it when someone gets chided for being 'almost late'. In my world that means 'on time' which is not late at all. In this case, almost == not.
- Kevin Fox
Kevin, that reminds me of this exchange from the movie The Money Pit: "Where have you been? You're almost late!" "Martha, in this country we have an expression for 'almost late.' It's called ''on time.'"
- Stephen Mack
Hi Stephen, you are technically correct. But the use of virtually, almost and other words as such is in my book a way to what degree something is not. So an item going for a penny, would be virtually free in almost anyone's book, as very few of us puts much value in a penny. Also, given your time example, we were virtually on time. If everyone else was late then it would make no difference if you were technically on time or not. So you would be virtually on time even if a minute late.
- Dario Gomez
This is virtually a useful discussion.
- Cristo
Mean Cristo is back!
- Stephen Mack
Dario, you're right, and that's how most of us use such words. But other times there's really a bright line, and you're either on one side or the other side. If you get fired for being late, saying "I was virtually on time" isn't good enough.
- Stephen Mack
Stephen, that's the quote that goes through my head when I think about 'almost late' though I had completely forgotten the source. Thanks. :-)
- Kevin Fox
Isn't he 'virtually mean Cristo'? I mean, I don't know if he's actually mean in person, but here in our virtual world he's a kind of mean that's less literal than in-person mean, so he's 'virtually mean'.
- Kevin Fox
"He almost scored a touchdown" == "He did not score a touchdown"
- Glen Campbell, B.A.
Glen, everybody on and off the field probably didn't score a touchdown. Only a few players on the field almost score a touchdown, hence they are different.
- Cristo
Sometimes I am mean in person, but not often.
- Cristo
Glen, exactly. Cristo, the fact is, the score didn't change, despite how close they came. Sometimes that's all that matters. Kevin, I actually remember the line being from "Broadcast News" but couldn't find any proof. But I did find it for The Money Pit, so it might be my memory that's wrong. And for the record, I don't actually think Cristo is mean even here on FF.
- Stephen Mack
Both dropping a pass and catching a pass and running 80 yards only to be tackled on the 1 yard line can be described as "not scoring a touchdown". Only one is "almost scored a touchdown"
- Ken Sheppardson
Ken, but ultimately, in the record books, the team that "almost" won still gets a big fat L on their record.
- Stephen Mack
"Sometimes that's all that matters." You mean "That's all that matters", right? "Sometimes" = never ... er... alway. I get confused.
- Ken Sheppardson
++Ken
- Cristo
Ken, the point of the conversation is that, while these weasel words have their place -- they do actually communicate information, I don't dispute that -- let's not forget that close/almost/virtually/etc. count for nothing in bright line tests.
- Stephen Mack
Usually I am mean for one of two reasons 1) I'm super pissed off, probably at the person I'm being mean to, 2) I'm trying to be funny, and end up being mean instead or in addition to funny.
- Cristo
+1000 Stephen
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
"weasel words" is a value judgement on terms which describe shades of gray. "almost" might virtually sue you for libel.
- Cristo
Funny!
- Stephen Mack
Google Trends: maclaren stroller recall, Nov 9, 2009 -- "Hotness: Volcanic" - http://google.com/trends...
Carl Haynes and metalerik liked this
Kwurky, Murky, & Lurky
Tyson Key, VAL D., Beau Liening and 4 other people liked this
The Letter V - http://www.zeigen.com/blog...
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Georgia Diehl, Rachel Lea Fox, Dario Gomez and Maxamad liked this
Suck it, rest of alphabet. The letter V has won popular culture.
- Stephen Mack
There's a magazine called "V" too, apparently, but I'm not very familiar with it.
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
Ladybug Heather, Glen Campbell, B.A., PENGUIN: MAJOR CAPS LOCK and Haggis (Sean Loyless) liked this
Jet landing at Moffett while I drive on 101. It passed overhead about 100 ft. Wroooooooooooooooooooom
metalerik and Rachel Lea Fox liked this
Was the pilot using his iPhone at the same time? :P
- Glen Campbell, B.A.
No, using laptop on the Free Google WiFi, of course.
- Neal Krummell
I heard that one go over the house too. It sounded crazy close.
- Rachel Lea Fox
That's really scary at night, especially when they're military jets who practice lights-off landings.
- Tudor Bosman
Glen, I posted this after I parked, I promise. :)
- Stephen Mack
from iPhone
Quick brain puzzler: Jack is looking at Anne, and Anne is looking at George; Jack is married, George is not. Is a married person looking at an unmarried person? Please answer "yes" or "no" or "cannot be determined."
Mark Trapp, Tyson Key, Jesse Stay and 16 other people liked this
yes
- Brian Sullivan
cannot be determined. no one said anything about Ann's marital status
- Josh Haley
from iPhone
Yes. ROT-13 spoiler follows: Vs Naar vf zneevrq, gura Naar (n zneevrq crefba) vf ybbxvat ng Trbetr (hazneevrq). Vs Naar vf abg zneevrq, gura Wnpx (zneevrq) vf ybbxvat ng Naar (hazneevrq). Va rvgure pnfr, jr unir n zneevrq crefba ybbxvat ng na hazneevrq crefba.
- Tudor Bosman
yes - took me a while.....
- Mike Nencetti
LMFAO
- Maxamad
Good old ROT-13! Need to go get a Firefox plug-in, brb. Furrfu!
- Stephen Mack
Or Google for ROT-13 :) http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse...
- Tudor Bosman
I still have command line shell for #!/usr/bin/tr A-Za-z N-ZA-Mn-za-m -- but I used to have a plug-in that I liked for one-stop in-browser ROT 13 decode/encode (highlight, right-click).
- Stephen Mack
Yes
- Cristo
Oh, yes, I get it now. Yay for being able to decode ROT-13 in my head.
- Chieze Okoye
Ok, I get it now, but tudor's encoded explanation was slightly misleading. if Ann is unmarried, Jack is looking at her. If she is married, she is looking at George so I change my answer to yes. Hey, I'm sick so I get two tries.
- Josh Haley
from iPhone
how is that different from what Tudor said?
- Chieze Okoye
it's not I guess. I am reading everything wrong right now. might be time to put the phone down. ugh
- Josh Haley
from iPhone
Good work, all! Too easy, I guess.
- Stephen Mack
This came from the following article, which is an excellent read about how "high IQ" and "smart" are two different things: http://www.newscientist.com/article... (ignore the gratuitous but deserved Bush Jr.-bashing in the beginning)
- Stephen Mack
Yes, says "this" Anne who is married to Jack. We just can't figure out who George is.
- Anne Bouey
Well, you're the one looking at him, let us know! :)
- Stephen Mack
"A survey of members of Mensa (the High IQ Society) in Canada in the mid-1980s found that 44 per cent of them believed in astrology, 51 per cent believed in biorhythms and 56 per cent believed in aliens " -- is the implication that these are known to be false?
- Cristo
yes
- Bruce Lewis
Mensa members seem to be the type of people to answer provocatively to throw off polls, I think. So anyone read that http://www.newscientist.com/article... article? Maybe I should bookmarklet it separately.
- Stephen Mack
I'm looking at getting another beer. So I beat all y'all. Take that.
- Jim Hearts FF
Stephen, I read it. I got all the questions right. ;) I also think there is a high probability that there is life on other planets, so I guess that makes me intelligent but not rational according to some. Not sure who appointed them the rational czars though.
- Cristo
yes. I was about to go with cannot determine :). I only got 2/3 of the articles questions right :(
- Dario Gomez
Cristo, I think that probably most rational people believe life probably exists on other planets. It's the visiting us on Earth part that's unsupported by evidence or logic.
- Stephen Mack
Cristo, I don't think life on other planets or any of the quoted beliefs in your comment are falsifiable, and I don't think people's non-falsifiable beliefs measure rationality. Just to be clear, I was answering "yes" to the puzzle, not your comment.
- Bruce Lewis
this married Jack is looking at married Anne and loves what he sees :-) wanna go out to dinner?
- Jack Norris
Heh heh heh -- I sent Anne a DM asking her if this "Jack Norris" guy was bothering her. She was very polite in pointing out that it's her husband.
- Stephen Mack
This sounds like a Google interview question
- Jesse Stay
Craigslist Sitar Lessons - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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The blogger who writes "Living Craigslist" took my sister Joanna up on a free sitar lesson, and made a vlog about it. The blog post is here: http://www.livingcraigslist.com/... -- and yes, that's my sister Joanna in the video teaching him. She's a full-time sitar teacher.
- Stephen Mack
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