I like video games. I like Nintendo Wii. My bro-in-law has one. Most of you know about the Wii already, so I won’t go into how cool the technology is and how much I like the design. But, I do want to share this cool hack that I found via Hack a Day blog.
| Factor | Rating | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 3.25 | 4 |
| Overall Quality | 3.50 | 2 |
| Camera Work | 3.00 | 1 |
| Audio | 3.00 | 1 |
So… You know I teased online dating not too long ago. Nothing against it of course. I like the whole show me a pic conversation. When do you start that? And, what does it say about you if you withhold a pic from an online solicitor? There is always a level of fear and vanity in online dating pictures. In such an environment, there is also the opportunity for a business transaction. Enter PickWash.com. Like a carwash, PickWash is a full-service clean-up facility for your pics. And about the same price, too. For $7, You can upload your photo and have PicWash’s photo editing experts do the following:
* Reduce facial shine
* Remove acne and other skin blemishes
* Even skin tone and optimize complexion
* Add glow to the eye while eliminating red-eye
* Whiten teeth
* Reduce Wrinkles
* Tweak the overall luminosity and color of the picture
Hey that’s a good deal if you’re going to flaunt yourself online or prep a picture for a Christmas card. Or if you printing out a picture to adorn the fridge. Or you got your mug shot on a blog…
Anyhow, I thought I’d share this little gem with you just in case you’re thinking of a last minute Christmas gift. No seriously, there’s a gift card for your vain friends and family. What says Merry Christmas better than a gift card to help you’re recipient not look so bad in photos. I can’t think of anything. What I want to know is if you take your photo through twice does it look extra clean?
I think most of us saw this coming sooner or later. The story here is that it’s happening sooner than later. The New York Times reports that the average US home will spend more on cell phone usage than land lines.
As for me, I’m still connected to my land line– DSL is to blame. But, if I had the option, I’d be land line free.
Read the the NY Times article for more on this ground breaking event in the history of electronic communication.
We had a good crew with us last weekend and I was excited to help give a few lectures. We spent some extra time going over studio lighting, because when it comes to lighting, as always, seeing is believing.
Check out the video they made in less than 72 hours:
| Factor | Rating | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 2.67 | 3 |
| Overall Quality | 3.00 | 1 |
| Camera Work | 2.00 | 1 |
| Audio | 3.00 | 1 |
The 48 Hour Film Festival crew will be hosting the first ever virtual film festival, where the film is created within the virtual space, too. You can start a team or join a team in Second Life and spend 48 hours together building a film that will be screened virtually amongst your Second Life peers. Sounds incredibly dorky, but if you’re into that kind of thing I’m sure it will be a blast. Read more about The 48 Hour Film Festival in Second Life and find out how to participate.
I have absolutely no authority to do this, but I’m going to appoint three all-stars as co-commissioners of the newly formed Videomaker Party Planning Committee. This is an important responsibility for any organization and certainly a task that not everyone is equipped to do. It requires ambition.
For those of you who are not watching too much TV like I am, this a mock-motivational poster inspired by the corporate satire TV show, The Office. But, this is the real deal (read sarcasm). I’m going to accept resumes for the three positions and pass those along to Dwight Schrute. Dwight will be conducting the interviews which include a written test, oral test and a final set of tasks at the Schrute family beet farm. Here’s the details:
Applicants for consideration should have:
Please let me know if you have any questions. Leave me a comment. Oh and if you want to adorn your desktop with one of those snazzy mock-motivational posters, you can find them here: Posters .
My next task is to start a Finer Things Club. If you know what I’m talking about, then send me a comment, too. If don’t know what it is, that’s how it works. It’s exclusive, yet also online, here: Finer Things Club.
Brian Regan does a funny stand-up where he breaks down Pop Tarts and their ridiculous cooking instructions.
Watch it on Comedy Central Videos
You know you’ve been craving to watch those classic music videos and stuff your brain with arcane pop culture facts. Thanks VH1 for bringing it back to us. Watch VH1’s Pop Up Video Collection Online.
Oprah Winfrey featured Ugg Boots on her Favorite Things episode in 2005. Two years later, I can’t walk a downtown block without crossing a young woman blandishing a pair. It’s true. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that on any given day in Fall, one out of every five chicks will be rocking the Uggs. This time of year, when the temperature starts to drop, they’re a dime a dozen. But, I had not realized the full potential of the marketing power of the Uggs nor Oprah until yesterday, when I saw a dude wearing them. I kid you not. He was Ugg’n it big time. I would like to tip my hat and give him a nod for his bravery and bold sense of fashion. This music video is for you, my Ugg wearing brother:
(Oh, and in case anybody is thinking of giving me a Christmas present, I’m a size 12.)
NBC has hammered in the final nail, pulling all its TV content from Apple iTunes. If you been following this feud between Steve Jobs and NBC you know that this has been in the works for some time now. In fact, I remember being in Newark, NJ shortly after the decision was reached to stop providing iTunes with new episodes. I was desperately trying to find the latest The Office episode via iTunes. Of course, I couldn’t find it, so I turned to NBC’s website, which on the hotel’s connection was too slow to view. I then turned to Amazon’s UnBox, which had started selling new NBC TV shows in place of iTunes, but I was on a Mac. Incompatible. So after about a half an hour of jumping around from site to site trying to watch TV on a laptop, I gave up. I was defeated.
Fast forward to today, nearly two months later and I’m reading this blog about the final moment of NBC’s removal from iTunes. What’s changed since my experience in Newark? Not much. If you’re a Mac user you still can’t download NBC’s TV content; not by NBC Direct nor Amazon UnBox. You’re stuck right now with viewing their content by streaming it over the Internet through NBC’s website or their hulu.com site which is still in beta. But, NBC Direct is promising to be Mac compatible soon. In the meantime, you better enjoy getting your content streamed to you, as that’s the only way your going to get it. As for me, that’s fine and dandy, but I lot people like the downloads so they can manage their content, perhaps viewing it on an iPod or Apple TV, etc. For those folks, they’re going to have to be patient. But, we’ve all got time to kill, right? When do you expect you’ll have new content to view with the ongoing Writers Strike? Seriously, TV viewing sucks right now– it’s like Nick At Night every night with re-run after re-run. So what’s the point?
I give up on you TV.
The good news is that even with NBC’s departure from Apple iTunes, TV Networks are realizing their full Online potential. That will eventually mean that viewing TV online will be a painless process. There’s just a few road blocks ahead, the writers who are demanding a cut in Online revenue and Digital Rights Management (DRM). Once those things are ironed out, I’ll be throwing out my 19″ RCA and crowning my Mac computer the King of my living room.
