7 vs X

Oopsie!

Another Thing is Clear

If you get so many DUIs that you need to program it into your phone, then you have waaaay bigger problems.

Priority One

Wow. They got those up fast. They're already weathered.

Statement by Congressman McCaul on the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve:

06/23/11

"Not only has this president made it more difficult to produce energy in America, making us more dependent on foreign countries, now he is depleting our reserves by releasing four percent to the world market.  Once again, this president puts the needs of foreign countries ahead of our own.  The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established for emergencies that threaten our national security, not for a political crisis."

This message is packed with iPhone goodness.

Ain't No T in the Real McCoy

10 Questions

There's a great post over at The Design Cubicle about 20 questions to ask your client before starting their logo. It's so good, I'm probably going to start asking every single one of those questions every time.

But then there's this from Why Advertising Sucks - 10 questions that you REALLY want to ask:

1) When I give you the quote for the logo, will you take days or hours to tell me how expensive it is without thinking of how much hours will it take, how much expertise it is needed to do a great logo... or just because you don't respect designer prices?

2) Can you be able to choose wisely or will you show it to your 80 year old granpa, your wife and your 3 month old kid?

3) Can you be able to visualize the logo with slight changes and approve a line of design or are you so limited that you will kill it, just because?

4) Will you have a revision fest with it?

5) Do you promise not to mix and match different versions and make me do a crap design?

6) Can I stop you from letting me know what logos you would like it to be similar to?

7) Will you understand that the logo you did on Microsoft Office is NOT a good starting point for me to design?

8) Do you understand that if you make hundreds of revisions, I will charge you for them?

9) Have someone ever told you that if an artist gives you a jpg of your logo as a final arwork... you really don't have it? You just have a crap jpg?

10) If by some reason you choose another artist to do your design... can you make sure he or she does in in vectors? I really can't stand people who design logos on photoshop and I refuse to redo yours someday down the line.

I think we designers can appreciate exactly how right most of these are.

Ruh-roh!

Not so fast...

Upon checking the new Final Cut Pro X camera compatibility page, it looks as if neither of the cameras I have at work (a 60D and a new XA-10) that I would shoot video on are supported (yet.) I say yet because I'me sure that support is coming, but Canon isn't exactly known for its speedy driver updates.

Dangit! Looks like I won't be a Day One Adopter, after all.

I Wet Myself This Morning

Final Cut Pro X is now available for download in the Mac Apps Store. I've been looking forward to this day ever since April. Longer, actually, but in earnest since April.

Happy Tuesday to me!

A Decade Off

From Reuters:

Russell Crowe may play Superman's Kryptonite dad

Russell Crowe is in negotiations to star as the Kryptonian father of Superman in "Man of Steel," a role played by Marlon Brando in the 1987 superhero movie.

Details of his role -- a scientist who foresees the destruction of his planet and squires his infant son into an escape rocket bound for Earth -- are not being revealed.

Dear Reuters,

Superman's father is Kryptonian, not Kryptonite. You managed to get it right within the story, but obviously couldn't be bothered to read the headline.

Also, Marlon Brando played Jor-el in 1978, not 1987. 1987 was when that turd of a movie "Superman IV: the Quest for Peace" came out, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't in it.

Sheesh. At least give your stories a glance before you post them to make sure they're correct. If you're so wrong about something as trivial - and easily verifiable -as the year Brando played Superman's father, how can we trust anything else you report?

Idiots.

Why Aren't You Speaking English?

From KTRH:
(http://youtu.be/MoR3qLgL_uU is you're seeing this on YouTube.)

During committee testimony this week in Austin, a Texas senator interrupted a Spanish speaker telling him he should "be speaking in English" during a committee hearing.

Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9 that would help crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. Aguirre spoke through an interpreter even though he had been in the U.S. since 1988.

What a jackass.

Weiner Resigns

From Politico:

“Today I’m announcing my resignation from Congress so my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative and more importantly that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage I have caused,” he said.

More importantly? More importantly??? How about so more importantly we have one less degenerate in Congress telling us how we should live our lives.

It took a few days longer than I predicted, but what else can you expect from someone that stupid? Good riddance.

Neil Peart Drum Solo on Letterman

Transitioning from a post about a no-talent hack to a post about one of the greatest of all time...

Neil Peart capped off drum solo week on the Letterman show last week. I could watch this guy play all day.



(Use this link if you're seeing this on Facebook:http://youtu.be/8F2D_LZNF8I)

Lady Gaga In a Downward Spiral

From Showbiz411:

It looks like Lady Gaga’s amazon sale really exhausted her audience. “Born this Way” sold only 105,000 in its second week. It dropped 38% from the previous week according to hitsdailydouble.com. That put it at Number 2, behind Adele’s “21″ album. ... But “Born this Way” has already gone through four singles, and none of them except the title track ever got breakthrough attention. ... “Born this Way” isn’t going to have “legs.” Instead of spending a year or six months on the charts, it’s headed to an eight week flameout.

The sooner the better. Can we please get this no-talent hack out of our lives for good?

Stuck

STUCK from Joe Ayala on Vimeo.

"While on our way home from Formula Drift Palm Beach, Larry Chen and I found ourselves stranded over night in the Dallas airport as our flights home were canceled. The following is a brief summary of the events that took place that night."

Wow. Glad these guys are on our side.

The Cubs Go to China

This is an special pull-out section in the local Brenham newspaper, the Banner, for the local high school baseball team, which was headed to state playoffs.

They took the time to add "Brenham Cubs" onto the ball, but couldn't find the 3 seconds it would've taken to Photoshop out the word "China" on the ball? Disgraceful and sloppy.

You Got Your Peanuts in My Twitter!

From Peanutweeter, courtesy of Matt.

Photo of the Day

Pure awesome.

Damn, I'm Good.

Me, one year ago:

"Tens of millions"
In yesterdays keynote, Steve Jobs went out of his way to say that
Apple would be shipping TENS OF MILLIONS of FaceTime video calling
enabled devices in 2010. And he repeated it.
Folks, I think he was trying to tell us that this fall that the iPod
touch is getting a camera and will have the ability to make video
calls over wifi. Ditto for the ipad next year.

Hey, Kids... What Time is it???

From 9to5Mac:

The next generation iPhone has reached the final testing stage (aka “AP” stage) and is now being carried around by high level Apple and carrier executives.

You know what that means, kids? Right! Time for Gizmodo to steal a prototype!

Thick As Thieves

From Yahoo News:

Amid increasing calls for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says the decision should be up to the congressman and his New York constituents.
...

Weiner did pick up support from Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat who was censured by the House last year for ethics violations.

Rangel suggested that other members of Congress had done things more immoral than Weiner.

Rangel said Weiner "wasn't going with prostitutes. He wasn't going out with little boys."

Moral relativism. Gotta love it in your elected officials...

Delusional Analysts and Pipe Dreams

From TGDaily:

Will WP7 trounce the iPhone in 2015?

Sales of Windows Phone 7 devices have thus far been rather underwhelming. But analysts at IDC believe Microsoft's WP7 platform, combined with Nokia's hardware expertise, will help the rapidly evolving OS outpace Apple's iPhone.

However, Llamas acknowledged WP7 will initially only capture a "small share of the market," as Mango-enabled devices are slated to hit store shelves in late 2011.

"Nevertheless, assuming Nokia's transition to Windows Phone goes smoothly, the OS is expected to defend a number 2 rank and more than 20% share in 2015," he predicted.

And Apple's iOS?

Well, IDC exepcts the iPhone to remain a primary force in the mobile market until at least 2015. After an initial "explosive growth period," iOS is projected to grow at a more modest pace as the smartphone market matures and diversifies.







Nice piece of delusional fiction here. What they fail to mention (and that their chart doesn't show with much clarity) is that before WindowsPhone7 can "trounce" the iPhone, it's got to go through Blackberry and everyone who has a Symbian handset will have to get rid of it in the next three years. And in addition - and this is the delusional part - the iPhone would have to remain static, not innovate, and fail to capture any more sizable market share and Android would have to only gain 5% more share. In other words, for this twisted reality to come true, the majority of phones sold over the next four years would have to be Windows phones in order to not only out-pace Blackberry, iPhone and Android, but also to counter all the existing hardware from those manufacturers out there. Granted, the average lifespan of a smart phone is only two years, but with news of more and more enterprise clients actively turning away from Windows Mobile in favor iOS and Android, I just don't see it happening.

There's a huge probability that Blackberry will fail to innovate and implode, potentially opening up market share for WP7, but it's just as likely that Blackberry customers would migrate to iPhone or Android first. This analyst is assuming that Nokia's market share, combined with a Windows phone would be such a juggernaut that they would be damn near unstoppable. And honestly, who wouldn't want a phone from two powerhouses of yesteryear tech? Both companies are floundering wildly and clinging to every ounce of credibility they have left. Just because the maker of crappy, buggy software and the maker of crappy, buggy hardware make a phone together doesn't mean it will be like two ugly people having a baby together - it doesn't guarantee a beautiful baby. Two negatives don't make a positive here.

So, the short answer is: "no." The long answer is "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Secret War in Yemen

From the NY Times:

U.S. Is Intensifying a Secret Campaign of Yemen Airstrikes

The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.

How secret is it, exactly, if it's one the front page of the New York Times?

Somehow, it just feels wrong that the United States conducts wars in secret. Where's the accountability, then?

My New Favorite Theater: Alamo Drafthouse

http://youtu.be/1L3eeC2lJZs if you're seeing this on Facebook

Waaaaay not safe for work, but worth every second.

The Apple Mothership ... Literally

From TUAW:

At a Cupertino City Council meeting last night, Steve Jobs presented plans for Apple's new campus off I-280 in Cupertino. As you can see from the image above, the campus resembles a spaceship. The entire campus will be one huge round building with a courtyard in the middle. The building itself will be four stories tall, and Apple plans to re-landscape the current area to include 6000 trees. A natural gas energy center will be on-campus to power the new building, and Apple will only rely on California's power grid as a backup.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. But wait - it gets even cooler than the building creating its own freaking power:

Speaking to the City Council, Steve Jobs described the new campus (as transcribed by MacRumors): "It's a pretty amazing building. It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle... It's a circle. It's curved all the way around. If you build things, this is not the cheapest way to build something. There is not a straight piece of glass in this building. It's all curved. We've used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here.

And then there's this from Macrumors.com:

The facility will be 80% landscaping, with most of the parking underground, compared to 20% landscaping with all above ground parking currently. The current campus has 3,700 trees and Apple plans to increase that to more than 6,000 trees, including "some apricot orchards."

Much of Cupertino, and specifically where the Apple campus currently sits, was once apricot orchards in the early days of Silicon Valley. Poetic.

See the entire presentation here:

The Big Double

From the NY Daily News:

Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted Monday he sent pervy pictures of himself to at least six kinky Internet strangers and lied about it - but he apologized and refused to resign.

Two things:
1. If this guy were a Republican, he would have resigned a week ago. Even if he didn't have the honor enough to resign, he would've been forced to by his own party (not to mention the media...). What is it about Democrats that they will not only put up with this kind of crap, but stand up and defend the reprobate members of their party? They claim it doesn't affect said reprobate's job performance. Who are they kidding?

2. I'll bet that this time next week, there will be one less Weiner in Congress. I don't think he's got a good handle on the outrage over this and that he lied about it to his constituents - the same constituents he now says he wants to serve and whose trust he wants to win back. Yeah. Good luck with that.

The Rest .................... of the Story: Dan Quayle

While reading a story about historical experts corroborating Sarah Palin, I ran across this in the LA Times. We've all heard about how stupid Dan Quayle was for not knowing how to spell "potato," right? I've never heard the rest of that story until now:

A classic example of this faux faux pas was in 1992 when Vice President Dan Quayle agreed to participate in a New Jersey classroom spelling bee.

Working from a placard, Quayle corrected one sixth-grader by telling him to add an "e" to "potato." Journalists gleefully noted the spelling misteak. And Quayle's dunce hat was glued in place.

Trouble is, that mis-spelled placard was actually written out by the classroom teacher herself, either through her own ignorance or, a few suspect, some sly political set-up. Quayle knew he hadn't written it and thought the error was the point of the lesson.

And because the classroom spelling bit was a last-minute addition, aides who would have foreseen the everlasting damage of their boss inexplicably adding a mistake to a student's work did not know what the placard said. Quayle subsequently forbade them from explaining the error to the media, for fear of embarrassing the teacher.

Wow. Much different story than was portrayed in the media at the time. Shameful. This guy's life was ruined because of this.

The Truth Hurts

From the Boston Herald:

Sarah Palin yesterday insisted her claim at the Old North Church last week that Paul Revere “warned the British” during his famed 1775 ride — remarks that Democrats and the media roundly ridiculed — is actually historically accurate. And local historians are backing her up.

Palin prompted howls of partisan derision when she said on Boston’s Freedom Trail that Revere “warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”

In fact, Revere’s own account of the ride in a 1798 letter seems to back up Palin’s claim. Revere describes how after his capture by British officers, he warned them “there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time for I had alarmed the Country all the way up.”

Boston University history professor Brendan McConville said, “Basically when Paul Revere was stopped by the British, he did say to them, ‘Look, there is a mobilization going on that you’ll be confronting,’ and the British are aware as they’re marching down the countryside, they hear church bells ringing — she was right about that — and warning shots being fired. That’s accurate.”

Translation: Suck it, Democrats and media.

The Result of Fee Roulette

I wonder how, exactly, they landed on EXACTLY $27. Not $25. Not $30. $27.

Oh, the things people pay for...

Stupid Environmentalists

Take a look at this video. Go ahead- I'll wait. It's only a minute long.


(http://youtu.be/tiYaz6xg4mM for those seeing this on Facebook)

First, let's take a look at the statistic from the opening scene of this video: 100,000 gallons of oil are spilled into the oceans every year. There are 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water in the oceans of the world, which makes the amount of oil spilled statistically zero (.002911855215384616e-16 specifically). There's far more urine in your average ordinary pool, statistically speaking, than oil in the oceans.

Next... so let me get this straight... This organization is wanting to ban tankers off the coast of Canada for the potential of pollution, which would ruin the environment and crap up the surroundings? Yet they have no problem putting up posters that, when wet, create thick black pollution in the form of ink that drips down and ruins the other surrounding posters in the general environment of the tanker poster, crapping up the surroundings?

I wonder how the owners of those other posters feel about having their work crapped upon? Seems to me someone should start an organization to ban stupid environmentalists from crapping up the environment.

Country Song

Great video. Thanks to Tony T for sending this.

George Lucas Strikes Back

...and this time, it's personal.

Get Right Back Up On The Horse