Got Steez?

Video of the Day. Oooooh so awkward.

2008-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Baby Shower

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Atom Originals | Great Moments in Human Interaction

Haha real life Assassins Creed

2008-12-03T23:47:00.000-08:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

VIDEO OF THE FOOOOREVER

2008-11-26T23:35:00.000-08:00

I think I'm gonna try this...

2008-11-21T23:05:00.001-08:00

If I'm gonna be a big scary brown dude, I might as well get some fun out of it...

VIDEO OF THE DAY-BINOCULAR SOCCER

2008-11-20T13:48:00.000-08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Just relax brah!

2008-11-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

This is one topic on which I feel very strongly.
Americans have a problem. A big problem. They ignore the facts in order to hold some tradition which they really don't understand in the first place. The perfect example is MARIJUANA. The "gateway drug" that has supposedly ruined so many adolescents lives. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself WHY marijuana is illegal? If you're able to answer that question, you probably have come up with something along the lines that it's bad for you. FALSE. Marijuana is not addictive, there has been no conculusive research to say it's a gateway drug, and alcohol is more poisonous per usage. But then ask yourself this. WHY SHOULD IT BE ILLEGAL EVEN IF IT IS BAD FOR YOU Since when did the government have the right to tell you what to do with your body? I should have the right to do with my body as I please, and there have been no conclusive studies pointing to any extreme dangers of marijuana usage.
But lets' go back to why marijuana actually is illegal. To keep it short, it's hard to tax, and the law was established back in the day for racist reasons. The name marijuana was popularized by the government because it sounded spanish and scared the American public. The man who was responsible for getting marijuana banned from our houses claimed that this poison was making the degenerate races even more dangerous than before.
Sounds like a pretty good reason to me!
People need to educate themselves if they wish to live in a completely free society. Just because something does not comform to your morals, or is not appeasing to you, does not mean it should be illegal. A free society is one in which people are free to do anything they please as long as it does not harm others. You can't pick and choose things that are okay to you, and rule out actions or speech that you find undesireable...
So please, officer, explain to me what the problem is?

ICE COLD BEER HERE

2008-11-20T13:03:00.001-08:00

You know what sucks? The line at sports venues when you're waiting for disgruntled employees behind a bar to pour out overpriced Bud Lights for thirty or so already drunken meatheads in front of you. While there's not much you can do to make the meatheads disappear, the Scotsman Trufill Beverage Dispenser can at least get rid of most of the line (and some of the angry pourers) by raining out a whopping 10 pints of beer in just 10 seconds.
The system works using a special cup, which allows drinks to be filled from the bottom rather than the top. For drinks that require ice, an added ice dispenser dumps cubes in from the top while the drink is being filled from the bottom. According to the company, fast pour times with almost no spill mean that the Trufill could end up saving 75 percent to 80 percent on labor costs. Though judging by how much the price of beer goes at Yankee Stadium, I doubt that'll ever translate onto the consumer's receipts.

Beer me beer man.
Source: Gizmodo

I'm not a huge fan of bikes but these are SICK

2008-11-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

BMDubs ride a little lower...

BMW has come up with a new concept for its' bikes. Customizable low riders... Where do I sign up?
BMW says it will make customizing the Lo Rider concept easy as Toaster Strudel if the bike ever reaches the market. The new Lo Rider concept is a totally bitch'n bike revealed in Milan earlier this month. It's leading the way in the BMW Motorrad tradition but going far beyond the familiar so much to the extent that, if the Ghost Rider were German, he would probably ride this bike.

Components like the saddle, handlebars, headlights and exhaust are easily swapped over, and the positioning of the saddle, footpegs and handlebars can also be fine-tuned to change the riding position. Fancy a long-distance cruiser? Put the pegs low and forward and bring the bars back. Prefer a sportier ride? Just put them peg's up high and keep the handlebars at the front. Fuel tank covers, fairings and heat shields are also easily removed, repainted or replaced.

This Storms not a killer...

2008-11-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

They much hyped Blackberry Storm has made it's release, and for all of you Verizon fans waiting to pick up "Verizon's iPhone", you're going to have to keep waiting. While The Storm may be a step ahead the Bolds, Diamonds, Dares, and G1.
The one thing the storm can brag about that none of this generations super phones can brag of is a fully clickable screen.

The main problem with touch phones is that there is no real way of indicating when you have pressed a key or selected an application. The haptic buzzing found on various iClones is a joke. And the iPhone's complete lack of force feedback is almost as bad. Remember the first time you picked up an iPhone and started text messaging with it? Sucked right? You had no clear physical indication when you selected a key. That's the crucial difference with the Storm: the 4-inch, 480x360 screen is essentially one huge button. When you want to select anything, be it a multimedia app or the number five, you have to press the screen down a millimeter, it's roughly the same sensation you get when clicking a mouse. But that small press makes a huge difference. Text messaging is amazing — pounding out a long-winded SMS (with a lot of compound words and no abbreviations) is just as easy as typing one out on a MacBook's keyboard.
The Storm also boasts a 3.2 megapixel camera, and video recording capabilities. This is about where the pros stop, though. The Storm has a terrible battery life, even in comparison to the iPhones which at times can be less than stellar. The operating system is the biggest downfall for The Storm.

After spending a lot of quality time with the Storm, it's apparent that it really is the carrier that cripples this phone. The hardware that RIM has produced is completely original, wholly impressive and poised to affect the way every phone manufacturer approaches touch technology — including Apple. But Verizon's insistence on controlling the operating system is obvious and, well, aggravating. The phone's OS has a rushed, shoddy feel. That, coupled with a tendency to freeze and lag when pulling up applications, is flummoxing. I get the feeling Verizon pushed RIM to get the Storm launched before its software was completely ready.
Until a phone comes out with an interface as simple and intuitive as the iPhones, it looks like papa apple will be sitting pretty for quite a little while.

Think shit's tough for us?

2008-11-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

It's hard to keep track of just how fast the Zimbabwean dollar has fallen since the government reinstated electronic parallel market transfers on Nov. 13, but even before that the currency of Zimbabwe was the most worthless in the world.

While the official rate on Monday was 19,393.94 Zimbabwean dollars to the $1 USD, the old mutual implied rate, generated from comparing the Zimbabwe and London stock exchanges, valued the currency at more than 642 quadrillion to one.

When the currency was revalued this summer, an egg cost about $35

No that's not a misprint. The exchange rate for a Zimbabwe dollar to one US dollar is 642 BILLIONto one....

I'll have to ask the Genius Bar about this one...

2008-11-19T22:16:00.000-08:00

I wish my dog talked to me... Guess I'm not smoking the right stuff.

2008-11-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

Anti-Drug Dog

The Cuban get smoked for insider trading.

2008-11-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

The SEC recently charged Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and prospective buyer of the Chicago Cubs, with insider trading. The Cubes allegedly sold off about 600,000 shares in Momma.com, which gave Mr. Cuban some insider information. Cuban didn't like what he heard and immediately sold off his shares, saving him a reported $750,000.
Seriously, wow.
I'm no Mark Cuban fan, but let me get this straight. The multi-billionaire is being sued for saving himself 750 grand? I know that's a lot of money, but in the stock market, three-quarters of a mil is kind of ehhhh.... small?

Cuban, on his own blog wrote that "I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so."

I'm not a huge Mark Cuban fan... In fact, you could say I hate the guy... But this is stupid.
I'm not totally clear on the whole concept of insider trading, but exactly how is Mark Cuban supposed to forget the information he just heard, and not sell his stock when he knows it's gonna cost him?
Somebody enlighten me?

Dick Cheney seems to be up to no good.

2008-11-17T17:23:00.001-08:00

I couldn't believe it...

VOTD --- THE SKY IS FALLING!

2008-11-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Ubuntu? I'm going to learn.... Ubuntu?

2008-11-17T12:48:00.001-08:00

The Matrix Runs on Windows

This shit's crazy!

2008-11-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo
Oblong Industries is the developer of the g-speak spatial operating environment.

The SOE's combination of gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels brings the first major step in computer interface since 1984; starting today, g-speak will fundamentally change the way people use machines at work, in the living room, in conference rooms, in vehicles. The g-speak platform is a complete application development and execution environment that redresses the dire constriction of human intent imposed by traditional GUIs. Its idiom of spatial immediacy and information responsive to real-world geometry enables a necessary new kind of work: data-intensive, embodied, real-time, predicated on universal human expertise.

Some of the SOE's core ideas are already familiar from the film Minority Report, whose characters performed forensic analysis using massive, gesturally driven displays. The similarity is no coincidence: one of Oblong's founders served as science advisor to Minority Report and based the design of those scenes directly on his earlier work at MIT. Other foundational components are less directly visible but as crucially transformative. The g-speak platform braids development arcs begun in the early 1990s at MIT's Media Laboratory, where Oblong's principals produced radical user interface advances, distributed and networked language designs, and media manipulation technologies.

From academia; into popular cinema; and out broadly into the world as commercial product: it's an unordinary path for technical thought and effort, but one -- leading to g-speak -- that seems now logical and even necessary. The people who work in Oblong's Los Angeles and Barcelona laboratory offices are as concerned with design as with programming, with humanist principles as with running a company. Synthesizing these concerns is the only way to insure that the metamorphosis of human-computer interaction we offer the world will be one of beauty and durable worth.

SOURCE: http://oblong.com/

my motivation to not be a fat ass...

2008-11-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Fat people have a knack for being really really fat. And sometimes they get so fat that objects get caught in the folds in their fat folds. Here are five examples.

5. A Turkey Sandwich

According to an emergency room doctor: "A morbidly obese man with a large abdominal pannus (the overhanging image above) came in exhibiting red, irritated skin around the abdomen.

It looked like a routine skin infection. But what was the cause? During the exam, I lifted the pannus and a turkey sandwich fell from between his folds.

The man said it was about a month old, which the smell confirmed."

4. Loose Change

According to an RN: "We got a lady who was admitted because her many decubiti needed debriding (aka, her bedsores needed to be treated). She had several of them, and was so fat, she was as wide as she was tall. I took all of her clothes off and prepared to dress and document all of her wounds.

Part of her abdomen and one of her breasts were greenish; I thought she had a fungus or something. I started wiping it off and followed it up to a skin fold, where I found . . . a quarter, a dime, and a penny--that was oxidizing and was turning her skin green. There were perfectly round sores underneath each coin. The smell was lovely too."

3. A Packet of Duck Sauce, other stuff

Perhaps MacGuyver put on a few pounds. According to a hospital worker: "A 600+ lb woman comes in. It takes 8 people to transfer her from the ambulance stretcher to the bed. When removing said patient's clothing from her, in the folds of her abdomen, we find: a paperclip, a plastic fork and a package of duck sauce."

2. A Couch (Yes, a couch)

According to a Stuart, Florida news station: "Gayle Laverne Grinds, 40, died Wednesday, after a failed six-hour effort to dislodge her from the couch in her home. Workers say the home was filthy, and Grinds was too large to get up from the couch to even use the bathroom.

Everyone going inside the home had to wear protective gear. The stench was so powerful they had to blast in fresh air.

Emergency workers had to remove some sliding glass doors and lift the couch, with Grinds still on it, to a trailer behind a pickup truck. Removing her from the couch would be too painful, since her body was grafted to the fabric. After years of staying put, her skin had literally become one with the sofa and had to be surgically removed.

She died at Martin Memorial Hospital South, still attached to the couch."

1. Pot

According to a Jacksonville, Florida (it's always Florida) news station: "Officers said Cedric Webb, 25, was at the Montgomery Correctional Center on the Northside on Friday night when officers searching for contraband told him to lift his shirt.

According to the police report, when Webb raised his shirt, the officer saw two bags of marijuana and tobacco tucked into his stomach fat.

Investigators said the drugs then fell to the ground.

The report said Webb would not explain how he got the banned substances into the facility.

The arrest report describes Webb as 6 feet 2 inches tall and 290 pounds and his build as 'heavy.'"

OTHER STUFF YOU MIGHT LIKE:

SOURCE: Holytaco.com

Don't stop, let's dance, flea market-VIDEO OF THE DAY

2008-11-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

2008-11-15T20:28:00.001-08:00

Just when you think your job sucks or that your life is hard...

2008-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

You think your job sucks?
Puts things into perspective a little bit? These guys are happy to have an 8 square foot shack to share amongst 3 people, and a table to sleep on.
Appreciate the opportunities you have been afforded because you are an American. These opportunities are not typical of a significantly large portion of the world.

Less than one percent of people on earth will receive a college education.
The average income of a human being is less than $8,000 per year.
The average income of an individual in a developing country is $2,000 per year.
Take advantage of the gift you have been given. There's no reason not to with the opportunities we have.

Can't hurt to try it...

2008-11-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Below is the complete email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,

Yes please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Regards, David.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

VIDEO O' THE DAY

2008-11-15T00:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know this kid, but I have a feeling he's good people.

Funny - Funny Videos

SHUT UP!

2008-11-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

You know what I'm tired of hearing? People who have to put everything into relation with America's current situation, financial or political. Shut up you mother fucker...
I don't want to know that when I'm eating cookies, I "better enjoy those cookies, because the price of cookies is sure to go up with the current situation of our economy!"
I hate the financial crisis as much as the next guy, and I'm as upset at Obama getting elected as the next thinking person, but don't remind me that I'm poor when I'm eating fucking cookies. Don't tell me that I can't keep eating cookies because I'm poor. Have you stopped to think that I'm eating cookies because I AM POOR and it makes me feel better, ass?
You shut your stupid mouth Debbie Downer bitch.
You may be saying, "Richard, the foul language is unnecessary to get your point across. I say, "Well snobbish fool, it's not. Foul language can be a useful modifier in making my point clearer, and to help people understand that I feel strongly about the point I am trying to communicate."

After all, I might as well use my freedom of speech now. I won't have it for much longer. WINK WINK!

The 1000 most awesome things

2008-11-15T00:05:00.001-08:00

I stumbled upon this blog, and all I can say is that's it's everything I wish mine could be. Normally I wouldn't take attention away from my own shit blog, but this was just too good to keep a secret. Dude almost has a million hits!
1000 awesome things!

Wow, welcome to America. Land of the completely unecesarry......

2008-11-14T23:25:00.000-08:00

This is easily one of the stupidest things I have ever seen. It's called the treadmobile. It's a fucking treadmill with wheels on it. So you can be on a treadmill on the go! Only that's called JOGGING. It's a new fad... Apparently you just run for an extended period of time. Jogging... or yogging... I think it might be a soft "j".
Check the video out for yourself... STUPID...

What should have been...

2008-11-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

SLICK RICK

Slick Rick was and is one of raps greatest emcees. He had some of the most creative raps ever conceived. His storytelling ability is still unmatched to this day by any emcee. From "Children's story" to "Adults Only", Slick managed to paint a picture with words that the most eloquent of writers and emcees would have trouble matching.
But in 1990, Slick Rick was convicted on attempted murder in 1990 and spent 5 years in prison. His career never really recovered after that. While rappers like Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. were glorified and commercialized because of their talk of gunplay and murder, that's exactly what led to Slick Ricks downward spiral. He never gained the commercial success that he truly deserved, and remains as a superstar that never was but should have been.

CHILDREN'S STORY

Ask me about my weiner...

2008-11-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Nick Young

2008-11-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

I was stumbling around the internet tonight when I came upon some photography from man named Nick Young, and it's some of the coolest stuff I have ever seen. I really can't describe it. It's all very simple, but at the same time very epic.

These are only a few of the photos featured on Younggalleryphoto.com. Please check the rest of these photos out for yourself.

More people need to start thinking like this...

2008-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F---- You

From the Scorched Earth Files:

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

You just blew my mind...

2008-11-13T23:13:00.000-08:00

Huge astronomy news! For the first time EVER, galaxy researchers have taken pictures of planets orbiting a sun-star, much like our own. The first, taken by the much beloved Hubble Telescope, shows a planet orbiting the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Australis. The second picture, snapped by upstaging Hawaiian observatories Gemini and Keck, shows two young planets orbiting a completely different star located 130 light-years from us! Take that Hubble! But I warn you—like the ultrasounds your friends show you of their three-month old fetus—these pictures wow mostly because of what they are, not because of what they look like.

This is what the Hubble Telescope saw, conveniently labeled by our friends at NASA. Where is the planet, you ask? Do you see that little underlined part to the right? That's the unimaginatively named Fomalhaut b! To get the image, Hubble's camera needed to block out the brightest part of the star, which shines millions of times brighter than the planet itself.
And here's the picture taken by the Gemini and Keck observatories of the bodies orbiting Star HR8799. HR8799 is about 1.5 times more massive than our sun, and five times more luminous. Like the Hubble's image, this star needed to have its light blocked too in order for us to see the planets. These two, despite being an even greater distance away, were slightly easier to find since they're young. Being only about 60 million years old, they're still glowing from leftover heat from their formation, making them brighter than Fomalhaut B, which only glows when reflecting light from Fomalhaut.
So in case you were doubting it—yes, other star systems exist. And as our galactical camera technology gets better, the pictures will start looking more like actual planets, rather than fetal specks on a giant Eye of Sauron.

GIZMODO

What do "Relapse" and "Detox" have in common...

2008-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Nobody saw this one coming... Eminem announced recently that his newest album "Relapse" will be pushed back most likely to the first quarter of '09. No shit.

Eminem is unlikely to release his forthcoming new album, 'Relapse', before the end of 2008, claims an anonymous record company "insider".

According to the New York Post despite UK and US retail websites listing the album as set for a December release, 'Relapse' is likely to be released early next year.

"Eminem… is completely obsessive-compulsive about this album," the source is quoted as saying. "There's a 50:50 chance it will be done by the end of this year but most likely it'll be the first quarter of next year."

Things that make you go "hmmmmm..."

2008-11-13T00:42:00.001-08:00

Kanyeezy Changin' It Up

I was conversing with a friend the other day on enlightened matters. He informed me that Kanye West's next album would be devoid of any type of emceeing, rapping, spoken poetry, floetry, jive talk, any of that good stuff. I had nothing to say besides "Oh fuck no."

The rapper/producer said making 808s And Heartbreak helped him through both his mother’s death and his split from his fiancée.

He told MTV: “It's a little bit of autotune and a whole lot of f*cked up life. This album was therapeutic- it’s lonely at the top.”

On the record Kanyeezy doesn’t rap at all preferring to sing and using autotune and vocoder effects.

At the O2 Arena event he said he was prepared for a backlash: “I did the effects because I like the way they sound. I like autotune… For anyone who doesn’t like it- f*ck you!”

I'm a little torn about this. As an aspiring producer, I can appreciate that dude is doing what he wants. As a listener, it seems that I'll be one of the many who Kanye is telling "fuck you", cuz I don't like it. He can do what he wants, and I have no problem with "Love Lockdown", but a whole album? Hmmmm...

BUMPIN OUT YOUR SPEAKERS

2008-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:00

Little Brother has been the picture of consistency in Hip Hop. From Minstrel Show to their recently released "Drama Free" version of the "Separate but Equal" mixtape. Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte keep on entertaining. There isn't a ton of quality hip hop left, but these guys are out to prove it still exists.

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

The Hotness... And the Notness...

2008-11-12T00:37:00.000-08:00

THE HOTNESS

THE ARIZONA CARDINALS

Who knew The Arizona Cardinals were capable of winning more games then they lost? I heard that they made the playoffs once but I wasn't sure whether or not to believe it. But now, playoff hopes don't seem so far fetched for the 6-3 and division leading Big Red. They dispatched of the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, and actually made a last second play to hold on to the lead.

Big Red leads the division by 4 games, and can lock up the division and clinch a playoff spot with just two more wins.

ATLANTA SPORTS TEAMS

In less than typical fashion, the hawks have started off the season on a good note. Hawks and Cardinal's fans are all asking the same question as things seem to be going oddly well: "What the fuck?"
The Hawks (at least for my generation) as well as the Cardinals have been the picture of consistency when it comes to shitty play. The ATL-iens have started the season at 6-1, with there only loss coming to the Boston Celtics on a last second J from Paul Pierce, right after the Hawks made a last second J of our own.
The Falcons who were expected to be bottom dwellers this NFL season have done more than keep up, holding a record of 6-3 and are sitting pretty in the wild card picture.

So I guess the real winner this week is... Birds?

GEARS OF WAR 2

For fear of looking like a huge nerd, I'll say only this; play the fucking game. Do it now.

THE NOTNESS

SOULJA BOY

Soulja Boy came out with a new single called "Bird Walk". If you haven't heard it, good. Don't listen to it. The kid needs to find a new producer, because whoever his producer is needs to graduate from Frooty Loops. Not to hate, but HOLY SHIT.... It's bad...

THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS

This one hurts bad. I'm a big Spurs fan, and I'm not quite sure how to handle myself. Spurs are tied for last in the Southwest Division. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are in street clothes, and I have terrible gas.
Part of me knows this is going to be a long tough season, and is pretty torn up about it, and the other side of me doesn't care and knows the Spurs will win the draft lottery and get the first round pick and have 10 more years of brilliance.
I know the rest of the NBA would LOVE that.

YO

2008-11-12T00:34:00.000-08:00

The name's Rich, Big Rich, Richard, Richie, it's all gravy.
This is my blog. I'm really not sure what I have to blog about or why you should listen, but you probably should.
Shit... Your life MAY depend on it.