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March 26, 2005

CBS Knows Us Well

There must be someone new working in the head office. This new person must be crazy... crazy and insanely convincing. It's easy to come in and maintain the status quo, but that's boring. No one likes the status quo... nooooo, we gotta move forward! So why not shake it up a little? Wake up on the other side of the bed? That's right Ellen, CBS is getting jiggy!

That's the problem, you can't get jiggy when the entire network is all about the status quo! No other station would create three television dramas that are exactly the same – except NBC, of course. No other station would ride the coat tails of a reality television show that's brought back season after season – except FOX. No other station would continually go after the same demographic, except UPN and The WB.

Something has switched at CBS. Someone has weaseled their way into some position of power there and is changing how the network is going after the coveted adults aged 18-49 demographic. CBS has dominated the Nielsen Ratings for the past few seasons, if not years, but they usually don't fare well in the 18-49 demographic (think Murder She Wrote, 60 Minutes and Walker Texas Ranger – yeah, you're wondering the same thing I am... how could they NOT attract a younger audience!?!). The people that watch CBS are generally older... than dirt. The people that watch CBS walk around malls and drink free coffee everywhere they go. The people that watch CBS run over 346 children every year because they can't see over their own steering wheel.

But CBS has decided to get away from the dying few that watch their station. Maybe feeling the heat from above, someone decided to do something at CBS. I'll give them credit for giving it a shot, but why on Earth would you say:

"Alright people... listen up, turn up your hearing aids if you have to. Things are gonna change around here, and I'm not talking about the diapers of our viewers. That's right, we're gonna give 'er the old college try and go after the 18-49ers. I know you think this is a crazy idea, but I've got a plan. We're gonna moel ourselves after a very prestigious and reputable network... we're going to be the next FOX. I've seen their shows, they've got something good going on... I absolutely LOVE those 'when animals attack' shows. That's pure gold and we're about to strike it rich, baby! Wooo-weeeee!!!"
–Dude-in-charge at CBS*

And here's how CBS is changing the landscape:

The Will
True to Dude's word... ripped right out of FOX's diary, came this wickedly cool reality show about a rich rancher that is picking who (in his family) will be the heir to his fortune. It received such great ratings that CBS canceled it after the first show aired... but why? Isn't this exactly what us 18-49 year olds want to watch? I must confess, I love shows about filthy-rich people making asses of themselves so they can stay rich forever. It's the American dream, right? That's reality of an entirely different world, and it's nothing any semi-intelligent American viewer would waste their time on. But, that doesn't explain how Jerry Springer does so well, though – there's no money involved on that, just trash.

Spring Break Shark Attack
Are you kidding me? Did you see the commercials for this? At one point there were about 50 fins in the water surrounding some people in a boat, or on a dock, or in someone's lap pool. I couldn't believe this when I saw it. Nor could the NCAA Tournament announcers that had to promote it every second the games weren't being played, "make sure you stick around for this gem." Oh, but it starred someone from The OC, that'll get people to watch it, or maybe it was the hot chicks in bikinis. I can't figure it out, but there were several people from my office that watched it... only to make fun of it the entire time. I don't think that's what CBS was hoping for – but it got them ratings I suppose.

Locusts
Giant locusts that can reproduce ten times faster than normal locusts... holy crap, I've been DYING to see a flick about this for a long time now! Please, oh please, star a recently washed up fan-boy actress... no way, LUCY F'ING LAWLESS!?! I think I just threw up in my mouth with excitement. Nope, that wasn't excitement, that was me sticking fingers down my throat. And how's this for the tag line: if you can hear the buzz, it's too late... great, I just threw up again.

Those are some great changes. If this guy hasn't gone around back and shot himself yet, then I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Please, CBS, I beg you, knock off this new attitude you've got going on. It's a joke. It's a waste of your and your main audience's time – and they don't have that much time left... they're thinking about great-grandkids and christm... well, great, they just forgot what they were thinking about. If you don't stop, at least you're making some good shows to make drinking games out of. On that note, keep it up!

*No one actually said that... on record. I made that up. Sorry for deceiving you.

Posted by Seth at 10:02 PM | Comments (2)

Photo Updates, Try #1

Today has panned out to be a lazy day, so I figure why not do a little house-work on my site. Enjoy the updates...

Some Photos of the New Place
So I've been in my new place over two months now, and though I haven't really decorated the place (or painted), I thought it was past time for those of you who haven't been here to see what it looks like. Err, what most of it looks like. I didn't take any snaps of my bedroom and either bathroom, because I'm lazy and I didn't want to clean it up before hand... sheesh. Okay, enough banter, go see the pics.

If you haven't used flickr yet, I really suggest you jump on the bandwagon. It's a great service and it's free!!! All you do is set up an account, upload photos, organize them into sets and share them with the rest of the world. Super simple! And did I mention it was free!?! You only get 10MB of space a month (upload-wise), but, um... that's a ton of space if you don't care about compressing all of your photos. If you want to share photos that people can buy, use ofoto or snapfish, for sharing photos for people to see, use flickr. Oh, and to illustrate just how cool flickr really is, you should know that Yahoo! just bought them.

New Site Photos
I took over an hour of time to prepare new images for the rotating image area (see top right), but for some reason, when I've uploaded the photos, I can view them by going to their direct URL, but I can't when the XML file tries to pull them into the site. It's very frustrating, so I'm going to come back and try again later on. But, soon, you'll see some new photos up there. You will enjoy them! You sonofa...

UPDATED
I figured it all out... new photos should be live now.

Posted by Seth at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)

March 24, 2005

I'll Get You My Petty

A thirty-something man hurries through the grocery check-out. He is pre-occupied. He doesn't care about anything but getting his cigarettes. Almost put out that he has to pay for them, he hastily grabs a wad of cash and change from his pocket and throws it down onto the counter. The money lay there, crumpled up as a quarter spins to a stop while a dime rolls under the register. The grocery clerk slowly grabs the money, straightens it out and then grabs the change. Entering the amount of money into the register, the amount of change owed to the customer appears on the display. Slower still, the clerk grabs the change and as eloquently as possible, throws the money past the out-stretched hand of the customer. No "thank you" or "have a nice day" was said, instead the clerk turned and greeted the next customer in line.

That clerk was me, nearly a decade ago... and that whole situation still bothers me today.

I'd say it was sweet revenge, but my exchange with the customer was probably lost on him completely and I'm sure he just thought I was a jerk. Maybe if I would've said something, made a grand gesture, anything. Nah, idiots are idiots are idiots, and they'll keep on thinking the Sun revolves around the Earth, the government have somehow screwed them yet again and how in the hell are they going to get their truck unstuck from the mudhole.

Why am I talking about revenge? I just finished watching "Man on Fire." What a fun flick, that is, if you like a pseudo-mystery with a dude getting some hella crazy revenge. I'm talking cutting fingers off, revenge. I'm talking bomb up a dude's butt, revenge. I'm talking you can shoot me all you want but I'm still going to blow half of your hand off with a shot gun, revenge. If there's one thing I've learned from that movie and "Training Day," don't mess with a Denzel movie character.

It reminded me of that Mel Gibson movie, "Payback." You thought I was going to say "Passion of the Christ," didn't you... well, you were wrong... there wasn't much revenge in that movie. No, you remember that movie, right? It's the one where you actually root for the bad guy! "BLOW SOME STUFF UP," you yelled at the screen. "KILL THOSE OTHER BAD GUYS," you plea. "RIP THAT DUDE'S NOSE-RING OUT," my mother cackled... "TWO TIMES," she added. Mom really freaked me out that night.

I wish I had the balls to push more revenge on people. But, I'm really trying to be the "bigger person" and not let that occur... which usually = pompous ass. Where is the line that says what is okay in terms of revenge? Don't be fooled, there is no line... there are just the assholes that piss people off and the other assholes that try to get them back... oh, and the people that just let it slide.

A man comes in to a mail store with an over-sized envelope. He's on a cell phone, which, in his mind, assures him that he doesn't have to speak to the cashier. Finally it's his turn at the counter and he tosses the envelope down and turns away from the counter, still babbling into his phone. A minute later, obviously confused as to why he hasn't heard a total price yet, he turns back to the counter and orders "I need that sent." Apparently. The man turns away again, still talking and after another minute he again turns to the clerk and the clerk asks, "would you like that FedEx'd, UPS, regular or Priority Mail?"

That was me, less than a decade ago. How hard was it to tell me exactly what he wanted when he first got there? Sigh. I sure showed him.

Posted by Seth at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)

March 22, 2005

How Can I NOT Say Anything?

Hey, stop reading these old posts and go directly to the good stuff at Why24Sucks!

Wow. What another electrifying week of 24! You know, by now, that I'm a HUGE fan of the show... rather, WAS a huge fan of the show until this season's less-than-stellar acting, writing, believability and igiveacrapfactor. It's not me who has noticed the downfall of this show, several of my friends who I've talked to about it have said they're more than likely not going to watch next season. That's a shame, because this show WAS good, it WAS inventive, but now we're reduced to bad storylines and plots.

So, what is it this week that bothered me?

  1. Yay! Chloe's back!
    You knew that her exit was lame for her character and that she'd be back eventually. But did you think she'd come back so tan? She must've spent the entire day in the booth to look like that, gross. And I'm delighted to know that Chloe has also learned the art of time-travel and can get all prettied up and back to CTU within five minutes of being called in. Wait, silly me, she lives across the street!

  2. "Your family is dead. And so are you."
    So, let me get this straight... the real pilot drives into the base with the bad guy in the trunk/back seat (still not sure how that worked – those new Caddy's have "secret compartments" I guess), manages to get by security (acting like a dick the whole time), then drives to another part of the base, gets out of his car, and HAS TO LET THE BAD GUY OUT OF HIS HIDING SPOT??? How about running? Or telling someone? But wait, his family is being held hostage, that's right... he knows that for sure since he talked to the people holding them. But that's not something you gamble with, right?

  3. "This is the only chance we've got... for the 14th time today."
    Jack Bauer has single-handedly re-written the CTU Field Ops handbook. He knows the right thing to do in every freakin' situation. And this time, he HAS to pretend like he's a hostage... so he STABS HIMSELF (best acting nod to Dina Araz, who looked at Jack with the best WTF-face I've ever seen), that'll get him far in life... maybe he needs to see a therapist, this cutting himself deal has got to stop.

  4. Didn't we see this in Season Three?
    It was the ol' "prove your loyalty to me by shooting this person" trick. Was she really going to shoot Jack!?! Hell no, what would we do for the last ten episodes? Regurgitated plot twists suck.

  5. "I just can't believe that this is happening."
    Believe it Audrey, your shot up husband, Paul, has been in surgery for the past thirty minutes of the show. And what a heart-to-heart moment with daddy dearest... "I didn't realize until just now how much I loved Paul." "I know this isn't the best time, but I've got to go. Audrey, I'm proud to be your father." WHAT!?! Did I miss something here? Did they cut out some of the scene, to "make it flow better?" I had to stop saying what a bad actor that guy was when I heard that line, and immediately started laughing.

  6. What exactly is standard procedure when pulling someone over?
    I know people get pulled over for speeding, or another traffic violation, that the cops usually approach the car. But it seems that when they're apprehending a dangerous criminal, one that is also a TERRORIST, wouldn't they set up guard behind their vehicles and tell the guy to come out of the car with his hands where they can see them? Not CTU baby, they charge right in! They also get exploded. That's what you get when you don't follow protocol.

We have ten episodes left, and I plan on doing this ten more times. Deal with it.

Posted by Seth at 08:52 AM | Comments (3)

March 21, 2005

So, He Survived

We didn't think he could do it, but good ol' Aaron survived the onslaught that was his bachelor party last Saturday night. What was only supposed to be an evening event, turned into a half-day marathon that included the greyhound races at The Woodlands, Westport Flea Market (best burger in the world), Kelly's Westport Inn and then some other place (sparing some details here, it's the Internet, folks).

It was awesome to have so many guys out for Aaron's party, but easily the highlight of the night was a game I created for Aaron to play. The name of the game was (again, Internet censoring turned on) "Aaron HAS to get that chick's phone number if he says THIS to her."

Basically, the game went like this... each guy takes a turn asking a trivia question about himself to Aaron. If Aaron answers the question correctly, Aaron takes a shot and has the chance to ask the guy a counter-trivia question to see if he'll take a shot, too. BUT, if Aaron gets the trivia question wrong, then Aaron has to say the quote prepared by the question-asker to the girl of the question-askers choice.

Needless to say, this was all for us to enjoy and for Aaron to struggle through; but he was a champ and such a great sport. Here are some of the conversations he had throughout the night:

That's only a snippet of things Aaron did that night, but I can't tell all. Not that we were in Vegas, or anything, but, you know. Two weeks until the wedding... he should be sobered up by then.

Posted by Seth at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2005

My New Toy

For those of you who don't know, my computer is back and home and is running better than I've ever seen it. I've had it for more than one week now and not a single program has crashed. I'm so very excited to have it in good condition.

But because of my recent troubles, I've enlisted the help of a new external hard drive. This hard drive will not only store all of my digitized music, but it will also complete a daily backup of my machine – I'm using some free software called Carbon Copy Cloner from Bombich. That way if anything else ever goes wrong, I'll have a backup to revert to. How exciting!

Posted by Seth at 01:47 PM | Comments (2)

March 14, 2005

I'm Twenty-Bored

Hey, stop reading these old posts and go directly to the good stuff at Why24Sucks!

Here it is, just for you day-long-action-television lovers, this week's play-by-play of 24 absurdness (some of the following might be considered spoilers – that is if you consider poorly written crap, spoilers):

  1. The head of security, (yes, the mysteriously evil one who set off the emp to save his ... boss? ... job? company's electricity bill?) who was interrogating Paul (the only person who knew where the printed out documents were) hits him a couple of times, then tells the other guards "come get me when he says something." Ummmm, where is he going? To make sure the lights are still off in the rest of the eight-block radius? And would an emp really wipe out the ENTIRE database of the nation's third-largest defense contractor? If so, I bet there are thousands of criminals out there just salivating over the fact that they could clear their name from the FBI's Most Wanted database with an emp.

    Criminals of America... THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!!!


  2. "Could the EMP have hurt Jack or Paul?" "No, but that doesn't mean they're safe... wait, unless either one of them had something like a pace-maker. Yeah, they'd definitely be screwed then. Man, that would hurt."


  3. Welcome back Michelle. Man, you take action quickly. First off you're caught up to speed on what happened over the past few hours. Then you impress us with your knowing Paul's last name (somehow). Then you tell us that there's some new information coming in regarding Habib Marwan from Division – we just saw you talking to NO ONE on your way over to Tony, so did the voices in your head tell you that? And speaking of crazy, did you just tell Tony if he didn't like his assigned job then he could "resign?" Michelle, HE DOESN'T HAVE A JOB THERE ANYMORE!

    Feel free to resign Tony, but know that if you decide to leave now, it wouldn't be reflected on your record, you won't be docked vacation, sick or personal leave, your paycheck will still be $0 and you won't have to make up any comp time. Have a good one!


  4. "Marwan, your face is all over the news... except that last clip with the lispy lady talking about the power outages and gun shots. Now THAT was good reporting, did you see it?" Good thing the people he passed outside of the restaurant didn't notice him, or seem disturbed that an emp bomb had just detonated in LA... not to mention the whole meltdown ordeal earlier in the day. What am I thinking!?! This is just like any other day, let's go celebrate!

    Side note: Does anyone think that when Marwan's picture was being shown "all over the news," they showed a picture of the bad guy from "The Mummy" and said "this man is a terrorist?" And if so, do you think that people instantly thought that all mummies were terrorists?


  5. When that emp bomb went off, people sure didn't waste any time... why they started bonfires and began looting. And what did they steal, you might ask... why snowboards of course. My guess is that these people loot all the time and have everything they want, so why not grab something really worth stealing.

    Question: Where was the guy with the shotgun when the snowboard thieves were rampaging the store?


  6. "I can't force you to leave your own property... but if I felt like it, I could take your car, guns and lives, all without batting an eyelash," says Jack to the Hispanic guy and his tan American brother with a crustache and goatee (the guys who have been blamed all of their lives for the terrorist attacks).


  7. Let's see, that's three people who have left CTU by either being fired or because of personal reasons. Good thing that Tony the drunkard is around making his non-salary. Odd that Michelle had read all the reports from the day and knew Sarah's detainment was a mistake, but didn't know that Tony had helped Jack earlier in the day escape a gun fight, track and stop the man who was at the terrorist "trial," find and detain Behrooz and his mother Dina... did she think that Tony had just swung by and was checking in on the place been reinstated for the hell of it?


  8. CTU has some very impressive satellite software. It has the ability to register gunfire. Cool eh? Oh, but you'll have to spend another million dollars to get the version that registers REGULAR FIRE, AS IN NOT FROM A GUN.


  9. I really don't want to mention the head of security that was shot in the back... but, even though he was mistakenly left for dead and had one of his guns removed, he somehow (with his head turned the other way) knew where his pistol was, grabbed it, leaned up and shot at Jack. Now, I've never been shot in the back, but I'd imagine that arching my back would hurt very bad... but I'm also not a super evil bad guy, either. They have super powers.

Did I miss anything???

Posted by Seth at 09:59 PM | Comments (5)

March 12, 2005

Blogging Resurrected the Radio Star

The phenomenon that is blogging is starting to pour out into other mediums. I take that back, it's really just pouring into one big medium right now, and that's podcasting. Podcasting is basically a radio show-style blog, and because it's so easy to do, it's quickly becoming the hottest thing to do on the web.

Why? I don't have a good answer for that, but I think it's because are starting to become bored with just surfing around the internet and reading plain and boring web sites (except those few blogs and fun sites). Podcasting allows users to listen to real voice and real opinion. Usually, they're not scripted either, so there's a big reality aspect to it as well, it seems much more real than words on a screen. Another reason is that podcasts, like blogs, are usually really tailored to a specific audience, which could easily create a built-in listener base before the first one is even published.

Before I left VML, I had been wanting to work blogs into a client site for some time. No one would really listen or seemed to care about doing something like this. When I got to SHS, they were all ears and a month later John and Tug started to publish the first Advertising Podcast – American Copywriter. It's really just a show for John and Tug to talk about whatever they want to, which is usually advertising, but they also get into the mindset of the ad world; which I think is very interesting. It's a funny show, you should check it out.

The implications of blogs and podcasts seem miniscule right now, how long can we actually care about reading someone's thoughts over and over again? Ask that question to Dave Barry, or other opinion columnists that are published on a daily, or weekly, basis. So are we just creating a world where more people's voice will undoubtedly vanish and disappear because other opinions are more popular and flamboyant? Maybe so.

But think about this... what if we used blogs in the corporate world? What if podcasts were used to build brands? Too late, it's already happening. Microsoft and other companies have opened their gates and are allowing their employees to blog about work, which allows the customer (or user) to directly access them and initiate conversation. And think about a podcast that is dedicated to Apple news, tips and tricks... if you owned a Mac, wouldn't you at least check it out?

I don't think the idea here is to create popularity for oneself – unless "you" are the one you're trying to sell. No, the big idea here is to reach your audience in ways that television and print ads can't. It's about talking to 75% of your audience instead of just 45%. It's about creating a brand that can be seen in many different mediums.

Blogging and podcasting aren't ends to the means, they're just the buzz-ways of getting closer.



To find out more on podcasting, check out iPodder.org. To see how popular podcasting is, go to audio.weblogs.com, take note of what number one is, then refresh the page 30 minutes later and see where number one moved to.

Posted by Seth at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2005

Macs aren't for everyone...?

There's no hiding the truth that I've had some problems recently with my PowerBook. I'll gladly admit when something isn't right and I'll take all the lashings that pro-PCers will dish. With me, it's a personal preference really... at home I use my Mac, at work I still use PC (Windows). But with each passing day, and isolated troubles aside, I'm liking the Mac platform more and more. It's hard to convince people why, especially if they have old Mac experience (when they were sucky) or just don't have the budget to buy one.

Recently, Walter Mossberg wrote an article about how switching over from PC to Mac isn't for everyone. It's an interesting read, and although he says switching is a good idea for the common computer user, there are quite a few things that I don't agree with him and I feel it's important to have some counter-points to his examples.

The Mac is as good as Windows at these core tasks, and in many cases better. Still, you certainly shouldn't consider switching to the Mac if you are happy with Windows and you aren't much affected by viruses and spyware.

Be careful here. I really think that no one is untouchable by spyware/adware or viruses. Yes, Macs are capable of getting viruses, but the probability of that happening is very, very, very slim due to how the operating system works.

Even if you aren't happy with Windows, don't consider switching to the Mac if you are resistant to learning new ways of doing things. The Mac and Windows are close cousins, but there is a learning curve that comes with switching.

For instance, Apple uses a one-button mouse without a scroll wheel, which takes some getting used to. There are differences in the way menus and desktop windows behave. And the standard delete key on a Mac works like the backspace key, not the delete key, in Windows. Mac desktop keyboards have a second, Windows-type delete key, but Mac laptops lack one.

So, basically, he states that if you can't figure out the difference between a Back Space key and a Delete key, or can't spend $20 on a new mouse (if your current one wouldn't work), then don't switch??? Geez. Yes, there's a learning curve, there usually always is. Next time you go into Best Buy (which, by the way, is an authorized Apple dealer), play with a laptop and see if you know where all the buttons are... I bet you don't. Does that mean you shouldn't buy the laptop because of a button learning curve? No.

And don't consider switching if your budget covers only the cost of the Mac itself. There will usually be extra costs. To maintain compatibility with the Windows world, you will probably want a copy of the Mac version of Microsoft Office, which isn't included by Apple. And you may want a standard two-button, Windows-style mouse, which works fine on the Mac but isn't included.

...

If you love Microsoft Outlook, you should also probably stick with Windows. There is no version of Outlook for the current Mac operating system. Instead, Microsoft includes an e-mail and organizer program called Entourage in the Mac version of Office. It's similar to Outlook but just different enough to bug Outlook lovers.

Budget, in my opinion, is the biggest negative of those wanting to switch. Yes, Macs are expensive, but they're carrying a lot of positive stuff along with them. Granted, the new Mac Mini is $499, and a good step in the Mac world. Having a copy of MS Office for Mac might be useful for those switching from PCs, but this brings up another good point about switching... people have habits of using one thing, and one thing only. It's silly to think that Outlook will be around and improved for the next 30 years. So why not try out new things now? Apple makes good software that can replace anything Microsoft makes, except Excel. Besides, why support Microsoft when they're the company that can't keep their products safe from viruses?

People who depend on their company's IT department to manage and support their home computers may find themselves locked into Windows. Most corporate computer staffs support only Windows and know little or nothing about Macs.

Sad, but true. If you have an Apple Store in your town, this is a moot point. Even so, take some time to try and fix minor things yourself, you never know when you're going to be in a bind somewhere with zero help.

If you use your PC mainly for games, avoid the Mac. While there are more games for the Mac now than there were a few years back, the number still lags behind Windows badly. And the hottest computer games come out first, and sometimes exclusively, on Windows.

People who rely heavily on financial software may be unhappy with the Mac. Microsoft Money doesn't come in a Mac version. The Mac version of Quicken isn't identical to the Windows product, and converting Windows Quicken data to the Mac is a bear. Many specialized financial-analysis and stock-trading programs aren't available for Macs.

He's right about the games. I'm not completely sure about the financial software, but I use Quicken on my Mac and I like it just fine. But here's a bigger argument. If more and more people switch to Mac, then the software development will come that direction. Right now, the PC market outweighs the Mac market about 95%-5%, if that number were to double, triple, or even quadruple for Mac, I guarantee that software would be just as available on both platforms.

Here's an interesting note... I can't find where I read this, but iTunes for PC has been hailed as some of the best software made in years for the Windows platform. Think about it for a second. The best software in years came from Apple? Hmmmm. There's been other rumors of Apple's iLife products coming out for PC users. For those of you iPod owners, this is just the tip of the ice burg where market penetration is concerned.

If you need an ultralight laptop for traveling, you're out of luck with Apple. The Mac laptops are great, but the lightest one weighs 4.6 pounds, compared with three pounds or less on the Windows side.

Sigh.

If you use a portable music player other than Apple's iPod, or love the major subscription music services, Napster and Rhapsody, which work only on Windows, you won't be happy with a Mac.

If you own an iPod, chances are you're using iTunes. If you don't own an iPod, chances are you're using iTunes.

The bottom line is that the Mac is a great alternative for mainstream consumers doing mainstream tasks who are sick and tired of the Windows security crisis. But it isn't for everybody.

I disagree. This is an open market and the main reason why Macs aren't more mainstream is because of faulty management in the 80s, pricing concerns, and a reluctance of computer users to switch to something different.

Using a Mac and using a PC isn't much different. There are some differences in the interface and how things move around, but the organization on a Mac is much simpler and when it comes down to it, they're both computers and they accomplish the same thing. Isn't it odd that over 75% of the Arts-related fields (Movies, Graphic Design, etc.) use Macs? These people aren't geniuses, they just prefer working on superior machines.

Enough soapboxing for one day. Roll up your sleeves and hit back!

Posted by Seth at 03:21 PM | Comments (2)

March 09, 2005

Pitnickier 63

  1. I do not like the obsessent barking of dogs (curtsey to TG)
  2. My toothpaste must be squeezed from the end of the tube
  3. I could eat French Fries with every meal
  4. I like dark blue t-shirts
  5. I hates grammar
  6. I like to read other people's blogs, but I hate daily-journal blogs
  7. I think I'm a pretty logical person, but some things I just can't work out
  8. I procrastinate
  9. Ponytails are a turn on
  10. So are glasses
  11. I can't eat the Cheddar Bites at Sonic anymore
  12. I do a majority of my banking online, and don't think twice about identity theft
  13. I love history
  14. Traffic lights in downtown KC really upset me
  15. I can't wait to ride my bike to work
  16. I miss the people at VML, well... most of them
  17. I'm not the best at spelling, but I can't stand it when other people misspell things over and over
  18. I use IM abbreviations, but I don't think everything has to be abbreviated, kwim?
  19. I've wished that I were a vampire
  20. Now I just wish that I could fly
  21. I love watching Wrestling
  22. I don't keep in touch with my immediate family enough
  23. Street names ellude me, but I'm extremely good with directions
  24. I can juggle
  25. I dress differently when I hang out with certain people
  26. I want to live in a city where I can ride the bus or subway
  27. I tire of lip service very quickly
  28. I should probably mind my own business more often
  29. I'd like to open up a restaurant
  30. If I could write for any TV show, I would choose Futurama or Sealab 2021
  31. I'm tired of Meg Ryan romantic comedies and Ben Stiller goofy comedies
  32. Jeff Goldblum annoys me to no end
  33. I wish I read more often
  34. I've shot a real gun once, and have no desire to ever do it again
  35. I have a bad habit of buying a new cd and listening to it until I'm sick of it
  36. I'm a mac snob
  37. I'm not a beer snob, but I prefer certain beers more than others
  38. I would never re-live my High School days
  39. I've peed in a pool before
  40. I sometimes think that if I were in a plane crash, that I would somehow survive
  41. I want a new cell phone and television, but don't need either of them
  42. I'm anti-CBS
  43. I want a hug right now
  44. I should do more art projects
  45. I love taking pictures, but I'm not good at taking them all the time
  46. Bad breath creeps me out
  47. Electric can openers are some of the hardest things for me to operate
  48. I get extremely hard-headed about what I "know"
  49. Pecan pie is heaven
  50. When walking out of an elevator, I'll squeeze my keys so they won't fall down the elevator shaft
  51. I'm a perfectionist with most things
  52. I want to own a tiger
  53. I want to wrestle with a polar bear
  54. I've enjoyed the first two Star Wars prequels, for what they are
  55. I like being sore from exercise, I like bruises more
  56. I think it's funny that girls with straight hair wish they had curly hair, and vice-versa
  57. I wish my hair weren't so straight
  58. I love sleeping on my stomach, but it hurts my back
  59. When guys smoke, it doesn't bother me, when girls smoke, it's nasty
  60. I'm brutally honest, sometimes in a bad way
  61. I really want to make an impact somewhere in this world
  62. I've run out of odd/weird/unique things to say about me
  63. If I ever tell you any of these things in person, and you say you didn't know that, I'll smack you

Posted by Seth at 09:45 PM | Comments (1)

1/4 of 24 More Reasons +1 to NOT Watch

Hey, stop reading these old posts and go directly to the good stuff at Why24Sucks!

I'm all caught up on 24 now, and as I stated before, I'm losing more and more faith with each passing week. Here's the latest beef:

  1. LA is, in fact, a time warp city
    Not only can CTU officials (or Government agents) drive from one end of the city to the other in no time at all, but sunset in LA occurs in less than 30 minutes. When Habib Marwan was seen jumping on a bus at the beginning of the episode, the sun was extremely bright. Thirty minutes later, it was pitch dark outside, no dusk, no sunset, nothing. It's okay though, it's hard to film during that time of day.
  2. LA is also and surprisingly empty town
    When, and if, I decide to hatch the world's largest terrorist attack on US soil, I'll be happy to know that I can escape out of a surrounded building, hop a bus, and wind up in a part of LA where NO ONE is. Then, even though my picture is all over the news as the nation's most wanted man ever, I'll be able to walk around wherever I like and not worry about a thing.
  3. CTU's personal assistants rock
    It was sad to see what happened to Driscal's daughter (which was a bogus story line in, and of, itself), but it's great to know that even though CTU is short on man power and they have every available resource working on stopping the terrorist threat(s), there's still servants to make sure Ellen's office has a nice full pitcher of water... just in case she grows feint. People in distress gotta drink!
  4. Life Goes On for more washed up actors
    What a pleasant surprise it was to see Corky's dad on 24. He may just battle the Defense Secretary for worst actor on the show.
  5. In the future, all Corporate HQs will have EMPs
    Juuuuuuust in case they need to silence all electronic equipment within an eight block radius. Oh, the devices will also pulse weird-colored light and make a noise much like the Tardis did on Doctor Who.
  6. The rules of EMPs are odd
    How strange that while the EMP was charging (not detonating, charging) the first thing to go was the analog phone lines. Then the cellular service went out (but if you were sharp, you noticed that while Jack's phone was searching for service, he was still able to check voice mail). Soon after that, the lights were flickering. But throughout the entire time (ten minutes, remember, is how long it takes the EMP to charge), the computers still worked. Then, right after CTU tried to gain contact with their Helicopter pilots, security guards INSIDE the building were using walkie-talkies. Uh-huh.
  7. Next week...
    "You want me to kill a federal agent?" Sure. We also want you to be extremely dry in your acting... oh, and be over-dramatic, too, please.

How sad. The show is becoming a weekly poke-fun-fest for me... if you'd like to watch with me and have me point all of this stuff out in real-time, just let me know.

Posted by Seth at 09:21 PM | Comments (4)

March 04, 2005

A New Day, A New Domain

After a few weeks of turmoil, picking, prodding, and aggravation, I've finally chosen what my new domain will be. No thanks to some of you who manipulated the vote, I was able to sort through all of the real votes, and ultimately not care what any of you thought – it's my site, I can do whatever I please. I am the king here.

Soon, and don't ask as I'm unsure of the actual timing, you will be viewing my blog on sethgunderson.com. It was a close one, I very carefully considered the two domains and figured that the more professional route was the better option. Don't get me wrong, sethyg.com would be cool and fun, but not exactly the style I was going after.

But, if any of you are curious about the many URLs that were suggested, here's the full list (and their availability to the public):

Posted by Seth at 04:08 PM | Comments (2)

March 03, 2005

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

So, I took my computer back in to the Apple store today. Still having problems. How aggravating.

Also added an XML feed for my links section on the right hand side of the page. Now you can enjoy all of the links I recommend through your RSS Aggregator!

Posted by Seth at 02:49 PM | Comments (3)

Lookie What I Made

Yesterday was my first real foray into Flash as I created a new promotional piece for UMB Bank (one of our clients here at SHS). It's not the best flash in the world, and there's a lot I could do to make it more streamlined, but I learned a lot yesterday and I'm fairly happy with how it turned out.

It's been a while since I started learning something new... in fact, the last thing I really took on as a learning area was CSS. I've always had a desire to learn more (including Italian, know anyone who will teach me?) and when I'm presented with an opportunity to do it, then I usually take it on head-first.

Learning is fun! Reality shows are lame. And do we really need a FOURTH "Law & Order"?

Posted by Seth at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)