Category: Uncategorized

I was really bored on Thursday. Finally traced this from source sketch.

J– and I signed up for the trial of Blockbuster online, basically a NetFlix knockoff for about $3 cheaper (for now). A friend of mine in Grand Rapids had NetFlix and raved about it. The office was buzzing about Napolean Dynamite, so we figured what better time to get a couple free movies on trial then now. We queued up our first movies on Monday; they were in our mailbox on Wednesday. Not bad. We’ll see if it keeps up.

Now that we actually have an online movie service, I wonder about how we’ll use it. We are the classic want-to-watch-something-good people, but we’re also the too-lazy-to-go-to-the-video-store people as well. And Blockbuster or Hollywood Video are literally 5 minutes away. (Yes, it’s sad.)

But now, with the movies immediately available and automatically rotated, I have the feeling that popping in a movie isn’t that big of a deal. We’ve watched two of the three we have out already and would have mailed the two back if the damn weather wasn’t godawful. (Update, 7 inches in the AA area).

I actually have high hopes for this… not that renting movies is going to be a life-changing moment, but it will deliver some different options once in a while. Or, at the very least, it’ll put decent pictures on that HDTV.

Oh man, looks like Detroit mayor Kilpatrick is squirming like he’s Bill Clinton. He even found someone to fall on the sword for him. Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings is copping to the purchase of the vehicle and claiming… wait, let me quote it, it’s classic:

“I’m not sitting here in retrospect saying it was the best decision in the world,” Bully-Cummings said.

Uhm.. duh.

Wow, this guy is like Teflon… non-stick AND bad for your health.

Link

This just gets better and better. Channel 7, the local ABC channel here, went to the city Purchasing Department and asked to see requisition number 177316, a public document used to lease the Lincoln Navigator under suspicion. Guess what. They “lost” it. In the words of Dr. Evil, riiiight.

The mayor is going to make a public statement at 1pm today. Should be an interesting lie.

For anyone outside of the metro Detroit area, this is a HUGE news story right now.

Basically, the mayor’s office leased, for one year, a Lincoln Navigator, allegedly for the mayor’s wife. Price? $24,995, exactly $5 under the amount that triggers a review by the City Council. Length of lease? 1 year. Oh, but Lincoln doesn’t actually offer a 1 year lease, so the lease was for 2 years with the understanding the it would be returned in a year. Oh, and the lease (and the story) broke about three days after the mayor went on TV and told the city that more than 700 people would get laid off due to budget problems.

One of the local TV stations got a hold of this and sent the in-your-face “On Your Side” reporters to check it out. Lies ensued (“It was for the police”, “It’s a coincidence that it’s the same plate as the mayor’s wife’s car from last year”.. that kind of stuff) and the reporter followed the mayor to DC for a mayor’s conference. His in-your-face style got him slammed into a corner, on camera, and basically guarenteed that the mayor and his thugs get front-page, top-of-the-hour coverage, until the stations and papers get blood.

To get a taste of the venom and righteous rage being hurled at the mayor’s office, check out Brian Dickerson’s column in the Detroit Free Press. Great stuff. Happy hunting, Detroit press.

I didn’t have an iPod the last time they did this (and let you read the codes on unopened bottles, if I remember correctly). Hoepfully I can get some free schwag and a caffeine rush at the same time!

Apple – iTunes – Pepsi

As many people are pointing out, this is not an end-all solution, but it’s a start.

Six Log: Support for nofollow

One of my intents for this year was to post fewer links to Blogcritics this year. I often post to them because they drift to the top of my subscriotion by virtue of the “B” in their name.

But, I have to link to this; a review of Iron Chef America. I should have said something about this as we actually watched it. This review pretty much says what I would have said: It’s not the original, but what the hell.

Link

May 1st! Family Guy is back on Fox!

Seriously, if you haven’t watched Family Guy, do yourseld a favor and rent or buy the first seasons. It is hands down the funniest show Fox had. Think Simpsons (before they started The Plunge) and then make it even more irreverent. No where else could you have the lead fat guy character lick his own nipple and have you falling off your chair laughing (that’s a real joke, by the way).

Link

I tried the initial version after Google bought the comapny and was underwhelmed. Not that version 1 wasn’t a solid app, it just didn’t do anything I couldn’t do for myself with a decent folder structure.

This version seems to add some nice features, like sharing and collage. I may have to try this out again.

Link