Bottom Of The Barrel: January 2007

Is it color?

Or is it black and white? Or is it both? Check out this video:

This is a really cool optical illusion to trick your mind into seeing colors that don't exist.

Labels: Cool

Sexpresso

If sex sells, why not coffee? Cowgirls Espresso, Moka Girls, The Sweet Spot Cafe, Bikini Espresso, and Natte Latte represent a new wave of drive-thru coffee shops opening up in the pacific northwest serving hot beverages and a little eye candy for dessert.

Certainly to compete with the likes of Starbucks [who complete with themselves in several areas of Seattle] and Seattle's Best, you are going to have to offer a premium product, deep discounts or a gimmick to bring in the customers. How does School Girl Thursdays or Peach Paasion Fruit Scone or Erotic Pleasure sound? I'm not sure if their coffee is any good but it does look like they'll be getting a lot of repeat customers looking for their morning fix.

How about Barista Boston? Not sure how that would work on a morning like today [about 20 degrees to start the day] but it could just be the next big franchise of the new millennium. Look out Dunkin, the Barista is coming for you.

Labels: Business, Coffee

Is anyone there?

Sometimes you just need to speak to someone about your account and the web based methods are too slow. So if you need to call Netflix, here is their toll-free customer service phone number [which I could not find on their website]: 888-638-3549

I am really only adding this here for others who maybe searching the blogosphere for this and can't find it. Thanks Mike's Hardware for having this for me.

Labels: Customer Service, Netflix

Listen before it arrives

Katharine McPhee's self-titles debut album is streaming online at aol for everyone to get a listen before it's available for purchase [tomorrow is the official release]. I took a listen to the whole album and here is my taken on each track:

1. Love Story - A bit too pop-ish for me, especially for a "love song".
2. Over It - This is a better tempo for her voice and I like the music and vocals.
3. Open Toes - Again I like the music, but is Kat a Hip Hopper or a soul singer? Plus the lyrics are a bit silly - Open Toed Shoes??
4. Home - This is the song where her vocals really shine. This is what she sounds like.
5. Not Ur Girl - This is a good track which melts her sultry voice into a nice up-temo song.
6. Each Other - Here is the love song that track 1 wants to be.
7. Dangerous - This is better urban track because the music is more subdued than track 1 or 3.
8. Ordinary World - Kat + a piano = the simplest track where you can really listen to her voice.
9. Do What You Do - I like the hook but the background vocals is distracting and sound a bit Fergalicious.
10. Better Off Alone - This feels a bit more jazzy than the rest of the down tempo songs and could be the hidden gem on the album.
11. Neglected - Feels like a add on track with very little production of the music and vocals.
12. Everywhere I Go - A book ended overly pop down tempo song made for the radio not for Kat.

Over all it's a pretty good first effort for McPhee and worth a listen. I can't wait to see what she can do if her music is approached more from her own personal style [a la Kelly Clarkson] instead of a pop infused record just to sell records.

Labels: Music

Curt's Second Pitch

Even though he said running for the Senate was not on his 2008 agenda, could you imagine what an interesting race it would be between Curt Schilling and John Kerry? I can't imagine any of those members of Sox Nation voting against the guy who gave us all he had [and one now famous bloody sox, I mean sock] and brought a world series championship back to Boston after an 86 year drought and one wicked long curse. WRKO-AM was the first to discuss the idea of Schilling going political and it was further fueled by an article in today's Boston Herald. Both have polls asking the people if he is someone you would vote for. Right now he has a 96% to 4% margin over Kerry in the WRKO poll while the Herald pool shows him as nearly 30 points ahead of other possible candidates for the job. And what does the man himself say about this grassroots support he is getting:

“I couldn’t rule it out because it’s not something I ever thought about in a serious capacity.”
“I envision that I will probably be pretty busy in 2008, But I’m flattered as hell to even make this phone call.”
“While I am a registered voter, I have too many problems with the political scene, and I don’t think I’d fit into it”
His first task would be to “fire everybody and anybody who had anything to do with the Big Dig."

While I'm no political analyst, I would say those are the comments from a man who understands how to speak to the public and could very well have his eyes on Washington DC someday. Maybe just not in 2008. In the meantime, Big Schill will be quite busy over the next year working on his second World Series ring with the Red Sox, running his charitable foundation for ALS research - Curt's Pitch for ALS - and heading up his new video game business, Green Monster Games. Good luck with all 3 Curt!

Labels: Politics, Red Sox

iPod Generation

According to Nielsen SoundScan, album sales were down nearly 5% for 2006 however total music sales - offline and online - was up by 19% for the year. It seems like online music services may lead to the death of the conventional compact disc however it is not the killer the industry once wanted us to believe. Maybe the new age consumer is no longer interested in paying $15.99 for an album that only contains a couple of good tracks. Maybe we have found that if you want those 2 or 3 really good songs, why not just buy just those for $o.99 each. Ultimately the next generation is going to listen to their favorite tracks in the same way anyhow, that is on their portable mp3 device and the source of the music is nearly irrelevant.

For example, let's look at Billboard's top selling album this week - Daughtry [which by the way I really like]. 12 tracks long and has a list price of $18.98 but can be bought for $13.99 at Best Buy. On the other hand you can purchase individual tracks for $0.88 each at Walmart.com or even better you can download the entire album, including 2 bonus acoustic tracks, for only $9.44. That is only $0.67 cents per song!

Since the industry would argue that the cost of discovering, developing, recording and promoting a new artist is so high, that the cost of the album has to be such to recoup those invested costs. That seems fair however how does that explain the cost of artists that no longer have those costs or are no longer even in existence? Taking a different example, Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album [known as IV or ZoSo] was recorded in 1970 and has sold over 22 million copies and the band has sold a total of over 84 million records since 1969. Clearly this artist and label do no have to recoup any out going costs except the physical manufacturing of the disc to be sold however today this legendary album still sells for $13.99 at Best Buy. If the artist and labels still think selling records is important, they might want to find a way to make the whole disc comparable in price to its online equivalent.

In the meantime, Generation iPod continues to consume their music in their own way and we all stand by and watch the end of the recorded album - at least in it's physical form.

Labels: MP3, Music

Parental Guide #27

[click image for a larger version]

Labels: Humor

Is Netflix worth it?

We have had our Netflix subscription for about 8 months now and I was curious if we were getting our money's worth. Over the past 8 months we have viewed 36 DVD's for an average of 4.5 per month [a few months we watched 6 while the early fall - right as school started - we only watched 3 per month] with our 1 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $9.99 plan [taxes not included]. The range so far has been $3.33 [for 3 movies] to $1.66 [for 6 movies].

The other 3 options we have for renting movies is the local Blockbuster, Comcast On-Demand and the new Red Box kiosk found in our local Stop and Shop. Here is the breakdown:

Blockbuster: $3.75 / Other side of town / Good selection - if they are in
On-Demand: $3.99 / ON DEMAND / Great selection
Red Box: $1.00 / Almost on the way home / Limited selection [only what's in the machine]

Based on the above "other options", it looks like 3 movies per month from Netflix is a break even with the other two full service movie choices [Red Box is quite limited but if you ever get the chance to see inside the kiosk, take a look - it's pretty cool] and when we get more than that [not sure we'll ever be able to see 7 movies in a single month] we are ahead of the game.

Labels: Movies

Did the judge say something mean to you?

I, like most of America, get some entertainment out of the early rounds of American Idol because it's like watching a train wreck - it's awful to watch but for some reason you can't look away. Looking at a given number of contestants, you have the top 2%that are actually good enough to move on to the next step, 2% that have no business even being there and the other 96% that are in the middle. In the final weeks of the show we get to vote on those top 2% and pick a single American Idol but in the first few weeks we get to watch the bottom 2% become train wrecks before our eyes.

Now if you are one of those folks who waits 10 to 12 hours just want to get your 15 minutes of fame you should expect a bit of criticism for your performance. I don't buy it that these people's friends and family continually encourage and praise them for their [lack of] signing talent. There is a difference between a proud parent who continually encourages their child and giving someone the false illusion of grandeur for talents that just are not there.

On a side note, getting to Hollywood where there is a voice coach will not fix your already bad voice. At some level singing is like most things in life that is made up of 80% God given talent. Also we do not want another Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry knock-off. Look at the winners over the past 5 years - all have been different from the next and each has their own distinct style.

Let's also not forget that this competition is about entertainment, ratings and money and who would want to watch a bunch of "no-talent ass clowns" signing poorly without a bit of criticism and sarcasm? Not me and probably not the other 37.3 million viewers.

Labels: American Idol, Op-Ed, TV

Coming Soon: Boston Wine Expo

Mark you calendars for the 16th annual Boston Wine Expo which will run from February 9th through the 11th. The grand tasting occurs on both Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 at the World Trade Center across from the Seaport Hotel. This is billed as the largest such event in the country with 440 participating wineries and over 1,800 wines to try. This will be our 4th year in a row attending and it is quite overwhelming but unparalleled in the amount and diversity of wines to taste. You can not try all of them in one day or even over both days [although I think I know someone who will be trying her best to do all in a single afternoon, and yes I mean you Kym] but it is fun trying. I am looking forward to trying some wines from other parts of the world such as South Africa and Portugal. For your best price, get your tickets before February 2nd and hope to see you there.

Labels: Wine

Pot on a Plane

No this is not the sequel to the over-hyped under-performing Samuel Jackson film but rather another incident involving over-rated Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick. Yesterday Vick was stopped by airport security in Miami and asked to dispose of his water bottle before passing through security. After much discussion and hassle, he finally disposed of the bottle but the agents noticed it had a particular aroma and subsequently retrieved said bottle and found a hidden compartment with a "residue" which is currently under investigation by the Miami police.

Notice to all air travelers: In our Post 9/11 world, the TSA has a long list of items you can not take on a plane and liquid over 3 ounces is one of them. That includes pro athletes.

One thing that does escape me is my a very public figure who is in the second year of a 10 year/$137 million dollar contract would be concerned with a cheap water bottle and some weed. Why wouldn't he just throw it away and buy some more in Atlanta? I think he can afford it.

For those of you who are looking for your very own water bottle with a compartment, you can buy them online for $30. Although I think I like this home made model better.

Maybe he's smarter than we are and just preparing himself for life after football? Maybe it's all just a marketing ploy?

As seen on tv:

The signature Michael Vick Bottle Safe. But wait you will also receive a complimentary Falcons FU foam finger and you won't even have to pay a $10,000 fine to use it. And if you order in the next 10 minutes you will also receive a venereal disease laden "interaction" with Mr. Vick himself. Operators are standing by so order now!

Labels: NFL

B's vs 'Guins

Off to the Bruins/Penguins game tonight, which will be my first time back at an NHL game since the lock out season of 2004-2005. I didn't even really watch any hockey games in the past year and a half either since I felt really put out [as a fan] that they NHL and NHLPA could not come to an agreement and the whole season had to be wiped out AND in the end they ended up with an agreement which is pretty much what the league was offering from the start. It is also a shame especially in hockey since the sport has such a long tradition - the Stanly Cup being awarded each year in the NHL since 1927 [and it goes back all the way to 1893 and the only year it was not awarded was in 1919 because of a flu epidemic].

Even if the B's aren't the same perennially playoff contender at least I get to see Pittsburg and trio of young [and talented] players: Sidney "Sid The Kid" Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury is the oldest of the group at just 22 and these guys could be the cornerstone of another Pittsburg team to win a couple of cups in the future. Unfortunately for the City of Pittsburg, the team probably won't be there when they win again. Maybe the City of Kansas City will benefit from Pittsburg loss. Only time will tell on that one.

Labels: NHL

The Class: Reharsal Follow-up

The webcasted rehearsal was again fun to watch and it gives you a great feel for what the set is really like. It's really interesting to see the rooms of the show [Cat, Lina and Ethan’s Apartments, Nicole and Yonk's House, A restaurant, and a grocery store] especially since they are all in a single row. Kudos to David Keith [who plays dim witted former quarterback Yonk Allen] for having his lines completely memorized already. If you saw the table read you would notice a couple of differences in the script and this looks to be a good episode which will air on February 19th. Just like the table read, the webcast is available to watch on The Class' website. Thanks CBS.

Labels: Television

Free Movies

Do you like going to the movies? Do you like free stuff? How about free movies? Here are three sites that offer free movie screenings and remember if you get your hands on a pair of movie passes don't forget to invite me to come along with you:

Wild About Movies not only has access to free movie tickets but also other things like posters and DVDs. I hope to get a Star Trek XI poster for my office.
Free Movie Screenings posts links to offers from movie studios. The site is a bit out dated but I would guess it begin to pop again as the summer movie season approaches.
Entertainment Weekly has free tickets from time to time so check out their site periodically to see what they have available.

Now go out there and get your free tickets and don't forget TheWino when get your hands on some.

Labels: Free, Movies

Jack Bauer Is Back

The following events occurred between 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM [last night]. After six seasons, and 17 Emmy's, I thought I would give 24 a look. Jack is back from China and ready to sacrifice himself for the US government - what a guy. Unfortunately for the bad guys he escapes, gets a gun, steals a car, and saves an unexpected ally all within 17 minutes [6:58 AM to 7:15 AM].

I can see where people would love this show - good action and very intense but can all of these things really happen this fast? Above is listed all the activities Jack does in 17 minutes. Isn't convenient he is held capture in a location so close to the target [who he saves] and that he has time to break into a car, make a phone call to the President [on a cell phone that he found in the car], find the coordinates of the target house, hot wire his new ride, drive to the target location, take out a couple of guards and then convince the target to come with him and just as they flee the house it is destroyed by rocket fire from 2 attack helicopters? Seriously, you can't go anywhere in Los Angles in 17 minutes never mind all of those other tasks.

I think the most unbelievable part of the first 2 hours was the 13 minutes between the time Jack is shown to the area of the hanger where he can "freshen up" from his place ride from China and the next time we see him, clean shaven and with a spiffy new hair cut, in the car being taken to the drop point. A total of 13 minutes [6:13 AM to 6:24 AM] passes by and he has shaven off his 2 year old, and very scraggily beard, and gotten a hair cut. I think SNL should take a good look at this sequence for this weekend's show and put on this skit:

6:13 AM - Jack walks up to mirror and see's himself for the first time in 2 years. He grabs some shaving cream and starts to shave.
6:17 AM - President calls looking for Jack, he is still shaving only has the very long parts gone.
6:24 AM - CTU chief checks on him, he's about half way done now.
6:37 AM - Jack cuts himself trying to get that oh-so-smooth look.
6:42 AM - Jack finishes and sit down for his haircut with several pieces of toilet paper on his neck where he nicked himself.
6:58 AM - Jack jumps from the chair finally ready to go.
6:59 AM - President calls back and informs Jack to never mind, they captured the terrorist and he has to go back to China.

Maybe tomorrow Jack.

Labels: 24, Television

The Class: Table Read Follow-Up

It was very cool to watch the actors read the script for a show that will air on February 19th with the director and producers. Keep in mind some of the information revealed in the read will be a spoiler since they are a few episodes ahead of the average-joe viewer. You can watch a taped copy of the webcast from The Class’ website [link is on the right appropriate titled Table Read]. Then next step is a script re-write, if needed, for the rehearsal that will happen on Thursday and will also be webcast live at 4 PM EST. Keep the good ideas coming CBS!

Labels: Television

The Class: The Table Read and Run-through

CBS is pushing out two wedcasts for their new comedy The Class which is your chance to watch the making of an episode, live from the set. Today, you can join the cast for a table read. You’ll return to the set on Wednesday, January 17, to watch the run-through. Yet another excellent idea to extend the serial network show to the internet and to utilize [or re-use] their typical activities to drive market awareness. I am hoping to listen in to the webcast today and report how well it went.

Labels: Internet, Television

Projects

Don't you hate it when you working on a home improvement project and unexpected things happen? We have a bath refitting company in this week lining our showers with [very pretty] acrylic bath liners and so far they look great. I went to test the new stand-up shower this morning and no water came out. Odd I thought so we went down to see if there was a shut-off in the basement and what did I find?

No supply lines from the basement = no water on the second floor. Looks like another project - Doh!

Labels: Home, Projects

Want your own country?

Sure we have all dreamed of purchasing our own island but what about your own country? The Principality of Sealand is up for transfer even if it is just a wartime fort atop on two concrete towers in the North Sea. The man-made off-shore installation named HM Fort Roughs was built in World War Two as an anti-aircraft base against German bombers sit just over six miles off the coast of Suffolk, England.

The platform was taken over 40 years ago by retired army major Paddy Roy Bates who went to live there with his family. Critics claim that Roughs Tower has always remained the property of the United Kingdom, a view that is disputed by the Bates family. The population of the facility rarely exceeds ten, and its area is 1800 sq. ft.

Sealand is now available for transfer by Spanish estate company InmoNaranja and it is explicitly stated that Sealand is not for sale, as a principality cannot be sold. A sum of between £65,000,000 and £504,000,000 ($977 million US) is set as the price for the new tenants.

So for those of you out there that have a spare billion dollars, you could take "ownership" if your own island just off the coast of the UK with your own flag, national anthem and minted silver and gold coins. Quite a bargain until the British government decides to take their fort back

Labels: Lifestyle, Ownership

The other legal cell block

What if you don't have the glove or smoking gun? What physical object can you present juries to really drive home the point? Technology is the answer. Legal, or forensic animation, is the next big thing is court room presentation. Forensic animation is defined as the use of full-motion computer graphics to recreate an event such as an automobile accident, the collapse of a building, an assault, or the workings of a mechanical device from a variety of perspectives. Forensic experts, police officers, engineers, and eyewitnesses compile the data and supply it to the animators, who create a series of fixed video images that are assembled to create a cartoon-movie-like rendition of the event. Simulated audio is sometimes also used to create a short audio-visual production.

In a recent case, dubbed "The Lady In The Lake" by MSNBC, Chris Hansen explores this mysterious case and in one segment, they show the use of a the forensic animation used in the trial. Dr. Igor Paul, a mechanical Engineer from MIT, worked with Framework Media to create these animations [scenario 1 and scenario 2] which show the victim could have fallen to her death instead of being pushed. This type of expert testimony is the future of the legal system and is another example how technology is infiltrating all facets of our daily lives.

Labels: Legal, Technology

Belichick vs The Photog

Bill Belichick, your New England Patriots just won a closer-than-the-score-would-tell playoff game against your former protégé now arch rival coach so what are you going to do? Run around the field and beat up on local media photographers as a celebration? Of course not.

There has been a lot made out of nothing with regards to the on-field incident between Bill Belichick and Boston Globe photographer Jim Davis and today's article by Brian McGrory just goes too far. Sure Belichick pushed Davis out of the way as he tried to reach Eric Mangini for the very traditional post game salutation however the press is first a guest of the Patriots, second on the playing field and not in the press box and third well aware of what and where the coaches are going to do as soon as the game finished. Davis' job is to capture that single moment when the two coached embrace each other so it can run in the Monday morning sports section and if they get bumped, pushed and moved because they are in the way, then that's "part of the game".

McGrory closes his article with the following question: "What would the guy have done if they lost?" I guess you would like us to believe Belichick would have run around the stadium beating up all of the press on hand not just a single photographer however since Belichick's coaching record since he has been with the Patriot's is 86 - 38 [including 11 - 1 in the playoffs] and has yet to go postal after the game so maybe, just maybe this thing is being blown way out of proportion. Or maybe the Kraft's should just pull the Globe's press credentials all together and let them buy their pictures from their rival, The Herald. Just a thought.

In Bill We Trust.

Labels: Patriots

2007 Rock and Roll Inductees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announces its inductees for 2007 today and they are:

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Kid Creole, Cowboy, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Raheim)
R.E.M. (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe)
The Ronettes (Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley)
Patti Smith
Van Halen (Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth)

Interesting choices, but I do have a couple of issues with these inductees:

1. I love Grandmaster Flash, but is this the Hip-Hop/RAP Hall of Fame or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Pioneers, Yes. Rock and Roll, No. At least Run DMC and the Beastie Boys used several guitar riff's in their respective albums. Maybe the RRHF is running out of actual rock bands to invite to the hall. Since there are no other Rap artist already inducted, maybe Blondie can introduce Grandmaster Flash since she would be the closest thing to that genre.

2. Isn't Van Halen still recording is some form or another? I'd rather they wait till a band has "retired" until they induct them, of course that would mean The Rolling Stones would never get in since Keith and Mick may never actually die, oops never mind they were inducted in 1989. The current line-up is Eddie, Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen and why wasn't Gary Cherone being enshrined as part of the group? Maybe they asked the hall to ignore the Van Halen III album but it would have a great way for former Extreme front man to get in the hall because I don't think his band is going to be asked anytime soon.

Anyway, congrats to all of the "Rock and Rollers" who have been invited to the hall and I can't wait to see how they deal with the Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth drama that is sure to on fold at the ceremony.

Redonkulous

68 degrees + State Park + Picnic + Bottle of Red Wine = Redonkulous Afternoon!

Mel's Braclets

Mel Simmons grew up as one of nine children in Hingham and settled down with her husband and two children in Rockland. Mel worked for 38 years as a flight attendant: first with Northeast Air Lines then with Delta Air Lines for the majority of her career. In 2000, Mel was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. At the time, she learned that the cancer had spread to 24 lymph nodes and her prognosis was not good. It was then that she began a five year journey that would test her to the core.

It was Mel's habit and pleasure to give little gifts to people she met while receiving chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. As a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, she had many colleagues who would bring her souvenirs from abroad: lacquer pins, boxes and dolls from Russia, soaps from Nice, Irish tea from Dublin, pashminas and bracelets from Istanbul. Her dearest friend, Kathy Holden, remembers giving Mel twenty of "those bracelets". Mel delighted in giving them as gifts to the oncology nurses, fellow patients or whomever she wished.

Shortly after Mel passed away, those who received the bracelets as gifts began wearing them in her honor. Others started asking how they could do the same. Everyone wanted a little piece of Mel. Another friend, Marie Bradley, had the wonderful idea to put them in a basket at a popular meeting place. She attached a sign that read: "Mel's Bracelets...please take one and leave a donation for the Breast Cancer Research Fund at MGH". The bracelets went like wildfire! Marie called Mel's flight attendant friends to find out how to get more.

In October 2005, Kathy, along with Pauline Alighieri, flew to Istanbul, Turkey, to order 1,000 bracelets. Their original goal was to raise $5,000. Since then, thousands of the bracelets have been sold and nearly $300,000 has been raised to support cancer research. Mel's bracelet has become an outward sign that continues to give hope and inspiration to all who wear it.

Labels: Brest Cancer, Mel

Brainiac

The Alliance for Aging Research recommends these 10 steps for improving your brain health:

Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet, Stay Mentally Active, Exercise Regularly, Stay Social, Get Plenty of Sleep, Manage Stress, Prevent Brain Injury, Control Other Health Conditions, Avoid Unhealthy Habits, and Consider Your Genes.

The last 9 seem pretty much like common sense, however the first one, a Brain-Healthy diet, is an interesting area for exploration. Cheryl Koch, a registered dietitian and director of the food and clinical nutrition programs at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, offers this list of "brain foods":

Fish - omega-3 fatty the brightest colored fruits and vegetables
Brightest colored fruits and vegetables - antioxidants found in them have been linked to improved memory
Whole grain products - B vitamins or magnesium are crucial to ensuring normal brain and nerve function

While all of that sounds good, I would like to offer an alternative idea of how to improve your personal brain power based on some simple scientific facts:

The human brain stops growing at age 18 and is 80% water
The mature human brain consumes 25% of the energy used by the body
Heat must be continually removed to prevent brain damage
The blood-brain barrier blocks all molecules except those that cross cell membranes by means of lipid solubility (such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, ethanol, and steroid hormones) and those that are allowed in by specific transport systems (such as sugars and some amino acids)
During simulated alcohol “binges,” rats’ ability to create new brain cells was reduced. But after the animals no longer consumed alcohol they had a “huge burst” in new brain cell development. The study is the first to demonstrate that brain cell production can return after abstinence from alcohol abuse.

So what conclusion can be drawn from the above 5 facts about the brain? Simple - Alcohol + Candy = Healthy Brain. Some time ago 18 was the legal drinking age and that is the exact same time the brain stops growing - coincidence? I think not. Wine has been proven to help the heart and now we can see that after drinking several bottles of your favorite vino in a single night will lead to burst of new brain cells being created. Throwing back several pints will also lead to bursting and could help keep your head cool, which is a huge plus in the brain damage department. And Candy - what better to get across the blood-brain barrier than sugar in the form of Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups [note I strongly feel that Oreo's are an excellent substitute when placed in a large bowl of Ice Cream].

So there you have it, TheWino's recipe for a healthy brain Wine + Beer + Peanut Butter Cups + Oreos = Mensa Member!

Labels: Brain, Wine

Recycled Ideas

Have TV exec's really run out of new ideas? This fall it was Day Break - a rehash of Groundhog Day set in a police drama. Unfortunately for Taye Diggs and Co., the show slipped into a "coma" on 12/18/06 - after just 5 episodes - because of low ratings. Why didn't this remake of a fairly popular comedy [GD grossed 70 M at the box office in 1993] do well on TV? Well first, I like Taye Diggs but he is no Bill Murray and second, the premise worked fine for a comedy but no so good for a drama about a cop who is framed for killing his partner.

Next there is word that ABC has green-lit a hour long drama as a sequel to last summers hit movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Again, what made the movie work: Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie = Eye Candy for everyone, awesome mano-a-mano fight scene in their own home and good gun play/action scene to finish out the movie. The TV show will pick up 6 months later, in a new house and the Smiths back to work, and working through marital problems again. But will anyone watch? Not unless they can cast 2 ultra hot people [plus 1 funny side kick ala Vince Vaughn] and give the viewer shootem' up each episode. I give it 2 airings before it's pulled.

Lastly, tonight is the premiere of The Knights of Prosperity - a show about a group of everyday folks who are planning to rob a rock star - namely Mick Jagger. Now I can see this could be funny, but do they think we will watch for 10 seasons as these obvious bumbling "criminal masterminds" try to pull off the "big job"? I'm not sure we would watch for 10 episodes [on a side note, I do like the quick discussion on why Eugene wants to rob Mick and not someone else]. But where did this idea come from? I can't say for sure but I do remember a song by Good Charlotte with the following lyrics:

Lifestyles of the rich and the famous
They're always complainin'
Always complainin'...
If money is such a problem
Well they've got mansions
Think we should rob them

Did Knight's just create a show based on the chorus of this song? Ahh the lifestyles of the rich and the clueless.

Labels: TV

New year, new room

Take one dinning room covered in really bad circa 1975 peach/yellow paisley wallpaper and add a equally bad bluish border across the middle of the room [instead of in the typical location near the ceiling] and what do you get? Check out the mostly pre-work photos:

With the use of a streamer [note if you ever need to remove wallpaper, spend the $21 to rent a streamer, it is worth every penny], subtract the bulk of the wallpaper. Next remove the left over glue using a healthy application of wallpaper removal solvent, a six inch putty knife and a ton of elbow grease. Once the glue is removed, then you'll have to wash the walls with soap and water. After the walls are dry, add some spackle to filling the holes and cracks and prepare for painting. Then add 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of base paint and 5 coats of accent paint to get achieve the desired subtle marbled red effect. Lastly add new curtains, light, outlet and switch plate covers and a couple of new wall hangings and you get a whole new room. Check out the post-work photos:

All in a weeks [well more like 8ish days] worth of work!

Labels: Remodling

The Streak

Was started on 12/8/06 and so far is alive and well [note Saturday was the first day I actually wanted to skip because I have a cold, but I got off my ass and ran my mile]. To date the streak is 24 days old and I have run a total of 43.7 miles. At the same time, thinking about a triathlon next summer, and I also logged 78.5 miles on the bike. Getting in the pool in the next week or so should be interesting.

Labels: Streak, Triathlon

Happy New Year

Labels: New Year

Bottom Of The Barrel