We are not the 99%

If people would focus more on themselves rather than things we’d be in a lot better place. People want and desire too many material items which places them in debt to those that they are organizing against. Just because you spent over $100,000 on your education doesn’t mean you are entitled to a well paying job. Learn a trade and actually do something that will be a life long skill, school is great but when times are tough hands on skills are what will get you by.

Food Stuff
For Super Bowl we had a small party with our parents coming over to watch the game with us, I wanted to try and cook buffalo wings, but wasn’t at all in the mood for frying them up, I found this awesome recipe two days before the game for cooking up crunchy buffalo like wings in the oven from Serious Eats, you owe it to yourself to cook them this way!  I also found this cool site that reviews all the interesting snack foods out there called Taquitos.net, they have everything from national brands to regional favorites.  Lastly if you are the type of person that is interested in trying your hand at brewing your own beer check out this quick blurb on Lifehacker about two free open source programs that will help you with your goal.

Music Stuff
I haven’t had much music stuff lately, but I had to share this awesome project that Michael Deal is working on that is a graphical exploration into the Beatles and the creation of their music.  This is a project and any true Beatles fan will want to check out.

Sad Stuff
For those that don’t know the Mars rover Spirit is stuck and can no longer move, so they have pretty much pulled the plug on the project, xkcd has a sad comic to show us that rovers have feelings too.

Funny Stuff
If you are a friend of mine on Facebook you might have already seen this, but if not, check out this graphic on How to Suck at Facebook.   I’m proud to say I don’t do any of those things listed, so I must not suck.  If you saw the Google commercial during the Super Bowl (which was my favorite ad) you saw a clever use of their auto complete feature, the site Autocomplete Me turns the auto complete feature into a interesting look at what people search for on Google.

The Lego Millennium Falcon!

Cool Stuff
I just found this today but I wanted to pass it on, someone has taken the initiative to educate today’s men on what they need in their wardrobe, with Newbie Fashion Tips for Grown Men.  It really is a good group of tips and suggestions on how to look your best.  Wardrobe Oxygen takes it a step further, but I have to disagree with some their what to remove from your wardrobe section.  I’ve been wanting to get some Lego sets recently to put together for fun and I was checking out the online Lego store, they have a $499 Star Wars Millennium Falcon, a little more than I want to spend (it is 5000+ pieces though)…  I’ve seen a couple places recently selling recycled bottles that have had their tops cut off so you can use them as glasses, here is someone that decided they could just make them instead.  Check out this great article on the 19 Most Complex and Dangerous road in the world, I’ve seen some of these on Top Gear, the Road of Death in Bolivia looks like a bitch.  If you know me you know that Kelly and I met online, so I find the research that OkCupid is doing on their dating site is extraordinary, they recently wrote an article about profile pictures, and I highly suggest anyone that is doing any sort of online dating read their articles, they will help you make a better personal ad.  Example, Men: don’t make eye contact and don’t smile, Women: make eye contact and a flirty face.  And the last of the cool stuff, this blog post regarding the changes to the Crayola color spectrum throughout the years.

Not Cool Sports Stuff
The Chicago Cubs have thought up an complete asshole plan, they are going to charge a 20% premium on those that purchase tickets the 1st week they are on sale, and then after that they will be the normal face value.  Talk about scalping your customers.  I hope we don’t see this become a trend.  (edit, this is nothing new they have been doing it for 8 years.)

Cool Videos
Some geeks have figured out an awesome use for Microsoft’s surface, Dungeons and Dragons!

D&D on the Microsoft Surface from CrunchGear on Vimeo.

Hot Tub Time Machine will be the movie event of the year!

Someone has edited all the violence from the 2010 Super Bowl commercials into one epic Youtube video.

And last but not least does this sound familiar?

Expect a Weekly Links update by the end of the week!

Goodbye 2009 it was a great year!

For those of you that didn’t see the pictures I posted 2 weeks ago, we put up our Christmas lights, we also got our tree decorated (pictures will be posted at the end of the month).  The past couple weeks we have been taking care of our Christmas shopping and also prepping the house for the first of what will be many Christmas parties our house will be the host of.  This Sunday is my dad’s side of the family’s Christmas party, we should have about 20-30 relatives in attendance.  And then on Christmas day we will have a party for my mom’s side of the family, which will be a bit smaller but will also include Kelly’s family (actually both parties will include Kelly’s family) and any friends that want to come over.  Work is winding down for the year as goals have been met and projects have been completed, I’m happy to say I still have a job that I enjoy although this year was a lot different from the previous two years due to the lack of new hires our department had to train.  Kelly’s business is doing well, although we did have a decrease in business compared to 2008, but we are in good standing.  All the animals are happy and healthy and we are all looking forward to the new year.  I’m proud of myself for keeping up with my Weekly Cool Links project, even though it’s not quite as ‘weekly’ as it claims to be, I hope someone out there finds some entertainment in me sharing what I find interesting.  Lastly my Eat in OC project has been doing great, I typically have around 5000 visits a month and I’ve made some major inroads with gaining new readers.  I’ve been linked to on a number of local websites, and high-profile local blogs, and in addition my articles are routinely linked to in the Orange County Register’s Community Blogs section which is only 5 links deep from their front page, how many others can say something like that?  I’ll probably post one more time before the year ends, but for now let’s move on to the rather large links section!

Food
Lifehacker had a great article on maximizing Thanksgiving leftovers that will also prove useful with Christmas leftovers.  While over at Slashfood they had 4 fast recipes for making great Tomato sauces.

Tiger Woods’ Women, er I mean Chicks
Some of these links may not be safe for work, or family friendly.  But this is my blog so if you don’t want to see possibly scantily clad women don’t look at the links in this section.  If you are related to me and offended, oh well, I’m sure you have something else you can be proud of me for, get over it… ;)
Twitter is a wonderful tool for communication and for people to share pictures with, some pictures are more interesting than others as you can see from this collection of Hot Chicks that use Twitter for the powers of good.  I do not approve or disapprove of their use of Twitter…  Maybe Twitter chicks aren’t your thing?  How about Chicks dressed in various NFL Team Jerseys?  What’s that?  You like farm girls?  How about German farm girls that model to help German agriculture?  Here you go.  Personally I like my girls a little different from the norm.  Lastly there is the Internet’s Girlfriend…  Funny how I’ve been on the internet for 15 years yet hadn’t heard of her till recently.  One suggestion for her site, more pictures like this and less like the one on the top of her website…

Sports
It got so bad at Notre Dame this year that after they fired Charlie Weis they went straight to the big man in the sky and offered him the head coaching job.  The Onion reports that Jesus Christ himself turned down a 3 year multimillion dollar offer to coach the Fightin’ Irish.  Maybe he was just holding out for the right job?  Such as this Head Coaching position with the Lingerie Football League!

Cool
Virgin Galactic has launched their official site for the space travel, complete with Spaceship Two pictures and information on the roll out.  Never would have thought space travel (even of this kind) would be available to the general public in my lifetime.  Lifehacker had a number of cool informative posts the past couple weeks, including Fixing Your Relatives Computer, Guide to Avoiding Online Scams, and the Most Popular Top 10s’ of 2009.

Funny
I read three comics online; Order of the Stick, Dilbert, and xkcd.  I’m particularly fond on one of the Dilbert comics from this week, because it’s how I feel at my job sometimes.
Another one from this week that really hits the mark is this one regarding the use of FAX machines.  As for xkcd I have to give some love to ‘Daylight Saving Time‘.  Looking for a last-minute gift for a friend or loved one?  How about, How to Date a White Woman or the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book?  All these and more really do exist!  If you are single and looking for a Russian Mail Order bride one of the companies involved has started to compare them to celebrities!  Now you too can date a girl that sort of looks like Jessica Beil!  Just make sure you ask them these 10 questions from Deadspin before you ask her to marry you, it will save you a lot of heartache.  And lastly, now that you got your celebrity look a like wife, it might be a good time to reflect upon those stupid things you did when you were young and might regret someday…

Videos
My website is currently sponsored by Bitch Slap The Movie!, in theaters: January 8th, 2010!

If you know anything about the movie, commercial, or TV show business you might find some humor in this.

I love reading Maximum PC and listing to their podcast, I love this video someone put together from Gordon’s rant of the week regarding the Apple Tablet.

And last but not least at all, the Space Shuttle is awesome and this high quality video of the STS-129 launch is worth spending 15 minutes to watch.

STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights from mike interbartolo on Vimeo.

Oh and Merry Christmas!

By the way, GO TROJANS!  That was an awesome 28-7 beating of the Bruins!

Halloween Stuff
Halloween is coming up so Kelly and I are working on making our place a little spooky for the trick or treaters that were are expecting (our first Halloween with them).  So far we have lights up on our porch, and three pumpkins.  I’m exploring the use of dry ice in our flower bed to make it a bit foggy, and also looking at some other options for scariness.  Recently I found this section on Halloween Props over at Instructables.  I’m thinking of trying my luck on one of two of these.

Software Stuff
It’s here again, the top voted software from Lifehacker, this list is from their April to September voting.  Lots of good stuff there, and most of the software is free or has free versions to try before you throw down some money.

Cool Stuff
Ever needed to open a Master combo lock that you lost the combo to?  Well you can either do it by figuring out the combination (about a 5 minute process if you follow this guide) or you can use a cut up soda can… The choice is yours.

Hey I Have Van Heusen Shirts!

Funny Stuff
Bootysweat must be checked out personally to appreciate it, that’ the most I’ll say about that.  I highly suggest creating the video for a friend at the end.  For anyone that is a How I Met Your Mother fan, you’ll appreciate the website, It Was The Best Night Ever.  And lastly what Weekly Cool Links isn’t complete without some sexist vintage advertising?  For more great “vintage” ads check out Marcy Writes.

Cool Videos

Like always I have some videos to share.  First video is a link to an SNL parody video of the Disney Vault, really looking forward to checking out 101 Fellations!

So this is what my parents were up to in their teens!

Can’t wait for Lost to come back, but this can hold you over till then.

Lastly a list of Fan cuts of TV shows and movies like the Lost one above.

Politics / Funny
2010 CA Protection of Marriage Act, someone has decided to take protecting marriage one step further by trying to get a bill on the ballot to ban marriage.  Sure it’s to poke at the Prop 8 people, but honestly, divorce ruins marriage and hurts more children then any gay marriage ever would.

Cool Stuff
Comparisons of Inaugural Addresses, this is a pretty cool diagram of every presidential inauguration speech that compares the words used against all the other presidential inauguration speeches.
Handwriting Tips Penmanship – NYTimes.com, I’ve always been fascinated with handwriting and really liked this article about how the human mind sees it, and the best forms of handwriting to use so people can understand it.  I’m glad the writing I use is already considered the most efficient.
Online Dating Advice: Exactly What To Say In A First Message « OkTrends, for all my single friends out there, looking to score online, this is a must read.  They analyzed a number of 1st messages sent on a dating site and found the words to use or not use to get the most responses back.
Swingvine shows you what’s popular on the web, right now.

Tech / Funny
Penn & Teller, this iPhone application will trick your friends into thinking you have Penn & Teller on your speed dial to help you do magic tricks.

Funny Stuff
Hot Chicks Picking Up Dog Shit, Taking hot chicks with douchebags another direction.  Also don’t forget to check out their sister site, Hot Chicks with Dogs with Boners…  Sadly I’m not kidding.
Probably Bad News: News fails, because journalism isn’t dying fast enough., I’ve been criticized for my writing abilities, but these guys get paid to write…
What Stormtroopers do on Their Day Off | WildAmmo.com, Who hasn’t wondered what they do?

Food Stuff
Food In Real Life, Great site that compares what’s on the box, to what’s in it.

Videos

Amazing San Francisco Blue Angels Flybys!

Maxim Magazines Campus Cuties 2009.

MBA in 2 Minutes

1. Revenue – Costs = Profits
2. Businesses without customers are not in business
3. You must do everything you can to attract and retain customers

Besides work not much happened the last couple weeks, we had a couple various family gatherings, a relaxing 1 week vacation, and saw a couple movies.  Funny People (3 Stars) and 500 Days of Summer (3.5 Stars) you can check out my movie reviews here (more reviews to come as I catch up!).  Lastly I’m getting into golfing and bought some new irons last week, that should be arriving at my house today and I’m looking forward to playing 1-2 times a month if possible.

On to the Weekly Cool Links!!!!

Music
I have a bunch of music links this week, most of them about finding new music, something I struggle with because of my specific eclectic preference.  I’m always interested in finding more music I might like, iTunes DOES NOT CUT IT with their recommendations, even Genius is just sort of ok, but Lifehacker put together an article on articles and ways to help, with their Top 10 Tricks for Making Your Playlists Rock.  There is Project Playlist which can help you find music, generate playlists and create ringtones for you.  Lastly if you are looking into turning an old computer into a “media server” you might want to check out Amahi, doesn’t require much power or high priced tech to get running, and can stream to just about anything, in addition is has lots of features that compare to those of Windows Home Server!  And lastly, I thought I would share an artist I discovered yesterday, this girl can do wonders with just a ukulele and has a very pretty voice.  She is also playing in Long Beach in a week or so.

Movies
Not much on the movies front this week, but how could we all have missed the production of Lesbian Vampire Killers!  Most of the reviews say it’s pretty bad, but come on with a name like that it has to be at least entertaining.

Sports
I found this gallery archive of Iconic Dodgers Photos from Sports Illustrated.  My favorites include the picture of Sandy Koufax’s no hitter, if you look closely on the chalkboard someone wrote and then erased that he went 0 for 4 in the game.  Also love the picture of two of the best pitchers ever in baseball, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax.  Glad that they included one of my favorite Dodger of all time, Orel Hershiser.

TV
If you happen to know anyone that is looking for a job, perhaps Veridian Dynamics might be just the place.  Well regardless if it is, I highly recommend that you check out the two episodes of Better off Ted that will be on this week (Tuesday 08/11/09 at 9:00 P.M.).  Or maybe you are like me and you just accidentally want to somehow download all the TV shows you are interested in so you can watch them later on your own time and without advertising… Well ShowRSS might be able to help you out…

Tech
If you don’t know by now, both myself and Kelly have iPhones, and one way I keep up with the release of free applications I might want to check out is by visiting FreeAppAlert, actually I have them on my Twitter, but I check out their website via their feed there.  Talking about the iPhone I’m really stoked to see that the FCC is interested in getting to the bottom of the application approval process at Apple after their denial of the Google Voice app.  I was really looking forward to getting to use my Google Voice number, hopefully these questions that the FCC has made will get Apple and AT&T to stop with the antics.

Neat Stuff (probably tech oriented)
Did you know that my relative and US President John Quincy Adams is tweeting?!!?  It’s all being done by the Massachusetts Historical Society, as this article explains.  J.Q.A. kept a 1 line a day journal 200 years ago while he traveled to Russia to be the first US Ambassador to Russia.  According to my calculations he’s currently just off the coast of Canada make his trek to Russia.
View Larger Map

On to present day, I really thought this graph by the New York Times showing how people spend their day was interesting.  I love the data that have put together and the ability to filter through it and see some specific groups.  For those of my friends that enjoy beer, and especially Miller Lite, they are soon to release some new draft technology to be used in the home.  This one should probably be in the tech section, or maybe I should just make an iPhone section, but someone has come out with software that allows one to track what is in their pantry and allow it to link with their iPhone to help create shopping lists and keep your pantry items up to date.  With the integrating of the pantry list on your computer you can have an automated shopping list that updates to your iPhone pantry list!

Local
That’s right I have a local section, but not much to report.  OC Register posted a list on Certified Farmers Markets throughout Orange County, although it doesn’t include the one in Stanton on Mondays (unsure if it’s a certified but I could have swore it was), also check the comment section for most lists.  Lastly, Gustavo Arellano at O.C. Weekly wrote about an article he read in a Jewish satire magazine, in which porn star Joanna Angel praises the sausages from Mattern Sausage in Orange for, “Its curved shape was good for hitting my G-spot and, because it was a smooth surface, it was also great in my ass.”  If that’s not a praise for their sausage then I don’t know what is!  What Gus didn’t mention is that there is actually an article and pictures of Jenna von Oy from Blossom fame!!!

Videos

Ladies, is this what it has come to?  What extracurricular activity does the Shake Weight resemble?

Are all the people in Santa Cruz like this, or is their something wrong with the water?

Don’t forget the Aspray next time you have issues with your body odor.

And lastly I had to include this awesome time-lapse video of Disneyland construction, it’s amazing how quickly they were able to do stuff back then, compared to the time it takes today.

Have a great week!

We wish you, your family, and friends a happy and safe 4th of July.