Brain Blenders

I am not a TERRORIST!!!

A regular reader and I were talking today (Jim) and he asked me if I have taken any more interesting flights...due to the fact that I have a thing about flying a bit and a habit of referring to flight attendants as "Air Clowns". And you know, in honor of that I will expose my recent findings concerning the airline industry.

What the hell is wrong with Airplanes? Are they THAT technologically sensitive? I mean, I can connect to the internet in ANY coffee shop in the country. I could arrange my cell phone to communicate with my car - due to bluetooth technology...and I can stop live television and rewind it - thanks to Tivo. But if I turn on my Gameboy during take-off the damn plane will crash??

Come ON!!! It's a freaking gameboy!

This is how it went down:

"This is your AirClown speaking...please buckle your worthless hides in the seat, turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones, two way pagers, and curling irons."

Everyone but me complies - because I don't think the rules apply to me. Air Clown marches down the aisle like a bride possessed...stalks past me then stops abruptly...backs up and places her hand on my seat. "Sir, could you please turn that off?" Less like a question really, and more like an adult talking to a pre-schooler who had just shat himself.

"Tommy - did you go poo poo in your diaper again? Ugh, you must learn to use the restroom...you are too old to be doing that in your diaper you little cretin!"

Use the exact same voice you used in your head when you read that...and you'll come close to the tone that AC used with me. I say, "It's only a Gameboy...does it really interfere?" (Using my best doe eyes) She counters, "Please turn of the game sir." Only - I don't like the way she says Sir...like she stepped on something squishy and it made her face screw up. I offer again, "But, it's a video game...it doesn't even take up much power...I'm sure the magnetic field encompassing this machine is so miniscule that even the most sensitive of equipment couldn't register it's existence."

Or maybe I just said..."Puuhllleeeaaseee"

Air Clown wasn't having it...she was going to tow the company line and that was all there was to it. But come one...it's an effen gameboy! Made me feel like a terrorist for wanting to play it...I was right in the middle of a wonderful winning streak of Zelda too.

The airlines can stop pretending now. The magic curtain that used to seperate us from them is split. We no longer find it fascinating to fly. Nobody dresses up JUST to fly anymore...we get the joke. It's a bus in the sky...nobody really wants to get on...they just want to get wherever they are going fast.

If it was so important to NOT have electronic devices on while you fly, then why do they allow you to answer your cell phone on a private charter? It's the airlines last remaining power play...keep us down and they will continue to gouge us with over-inflated prices, crappy, customer service, and low rent policies such as this.

Piss on em...I'm playing Zelda.

Dal by Violet

Wouldn't it be great instead of having the phone ringing, email bouncing up and down on your screen, and SMS blowing up to have a light sitting on the edge of your desk slowly change color to display the emotion of the message you just received? The light could turn blue when the dow raises, or green when the tempurature drops outside, or red when you get a lovely email from your family. That would be SWEET.

"Dal can receive messages sent by your friend via email or via your telephone. The messages are colored animations that can be created for each type of emotions you want to show. A personal language and grammar can be created between two persons: only they know what the lamp is expressing."

Dal is a wireless light that emits emotion via Wifi connection to the internet. You can set the preferences...and let the love begin. I have contacted the company to see if I can get one...for free - since I wrote a story about it.

"Founded in 2002, the vocation of Violet is to develop products and services based on calm and emotional technologies. The team of Violet has an extended experience in building calm interfaces"

Seattle’s Novel New Trend: Skinny People

The Dog Blog
by:David Dog

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the misty city of Seattle produced at least two significant trends that began with youth and ultimately trickled into older generations. One was the coffeehouse culture (sorry Europe). The other was the grunge culture (both music and fashion). Their passion for java caught on in other cities full of wannabe intellectuals, and subsequently has breathed new, sustainable life into the once-sinking coffee industry. And grunge is a relative term, as teens continue to push the edge on just how scruffy they can make their whole appearance to frustrate their parents..

So on my latest trek to Seattle after an 11-year absence, I was on the prowl for insight on the next fashion, music, or food trend to come from this trend-setting town. (By the way, when you’ve finally replaced your daily cup of coffee for a cup of Bubble Tea, don’t credit Seattle as the source of this trend – which Seattle is certainly helping to promote with all the Bubble Tea shops popping around the University of Washington campus).

Disappointment clouded me after a few unfruitful days and nights of walking the streets and interviewing taxi drivers. Then, at last, I had inspiration while on my journey to visit a friend on Bainbridge Island, which requires a ferry ride. There were plenty of walk-on and drive-on passengers on board, but the first sign I was on to something came to me when I saw hundreds of ride-on passengers taking their bicycles off the ferry to ride home. Presumably they have day jobs in the Seattle area and ride to and from the ferry every day, rather than face lines of cars congesting the roadway infrastructure that is unable to keep up with the city’s growth. My middle-aged professor friend rides 18 miles each way several days a week it turns out.

My trend revelation came to me during a sidebar conversation with my friend who, though he had always struck me as being in good shape, now appeared to have melted any fat that remained between his skin and his muscles. In a word, he was cut. I asked him what he’d done. In his case, he’d become a triathlete. But he said that in general, Seattle doesn’t have all the fat people like he saw when he was living in the Midwest (i.e., Chicago). He said it’s partly because the temperature seldom falls below 45 degrees so people are out all year. And people bike, hike, walk, run, and do all kinds of activities. He says there’s almost a pressure or at least a culture to be active.

Before I go on, if you’re someone who says, “But Dog, it’s too cold or too hot where I live, and I really don’t have time for all this exercise stuff. And besides, my metabolism is just slow, I have some advice: Close your eyes, picture yourself holding one of those Bubble Teas, grab a straw, put it to your mouth, and SUCK – IT – UP.

Buoy House

Marcin Panpuch has a vision for the future and it floats...or possibly hangs...whatever it does- it's transparent, trendy, and mobile. The spherical house is designed to be 50' in diameter, give a panaramic view, generate it's own power via solar cells in the shell of the dome, and save you 25% on energy costs due to the shape.

The designed "sphere house" is divided into three floors that are organised around a core - "services/distribution wall". Open plan design allows easy changes to work and living spaces.
The central core includes stairs, kitchen (social and family assembly point), bathroom and toilets.
The service/distribution wall accommodates all ducts, services, central heating system and electrical connections between floors.
The upper floor is designed as a highly flexible living space with up to two entrance points allowing you to connect to the outside.

from Marcin's site

He thinks that Londoners have turned their collective backs on the Thames - so he has the grand of idea of placing many, actually right on top of it...or in it to be exact. The house would be a floating domicile that could actually double as a mode of transportation. Since the cost of land and availability is so scarce London might want to consider moving back on top of the dirty Thames.

Patio Cattle

I want a "Mini". Not the cute little Cooper that has made such a buzz, but a miniature cow. Wouldn't it be phenomenal to not wake up in the morning to the wet nose of your dog, or the disinterest of your cat, but rather the warm udder of your pet cow?

"Come here Bessy - Daddy needs some cream for his coffee!! Here girl..." Then yell at the kids to stop riding the cow, and put the bell back around her neck...the fun is limitless.

Actually - this is a potentially great idea. People have personal gardens - why not small milk sources? Here is the story from the MSNBC.

John S. - thanks for the heads-up on this one!!!

SK II - N/A

T Mobile has decided to give us SideKick loyalists first shot at the new SideKick II with an email announcement and a 1-800 number access point (only way to get one is through the 800 number). Needless to say I have literally been calling (away from work of course) SO MANY times only to receive the dreaded busy signal. This is the email I got today from the Sidekick II team:

Your response to the new T-Mobile Sidekick II has been nothing short of amazing! In just a few days, we’ve already sold through our first allotment of devices. We are quickly working to replenish our supplies so that more of you can take advantage of this same special offer in the very near future. T-Mobile will send you an e-mail as soon as we have more devices to sell. In the meantime, we ask that you refrain from calling the special toll free Sidekick Trade-in line or Customer Care. Thank you for your loyalty and enthusiasm for the new T-Mobile Sidekick II!

Your T-Mobile Sidekick II Team

Now I might not get my SKII until the rest of the commoners have a chance to get one. How absolutely Motorola bag-phone of them.

90' models have blogs too

Lee Dungarees have come a long way from the skin tight, cowboy days. Now they have a 90' Brazilian model pimping their wears with her own blog and her home (212) 468-2817 number that she writes down on the television spots. (call the number - you can leave a message) I think it's a creative way to engage the consumer in an interactive approach to earning our patronage/loyalty. People are responding to the blog and "Natalie" is responding back. My favorite response has been the "can my friends and I paint your toes - we bought big brushes?"

The Oprah Giveth

The Big "O" recently gave away 276 Pontiac G6's on her show. I am impressed with the way she did it. A modern day P.T. Barnum for sure, we can see why Pontiac was willing to shell out $7 million dollars to make this Oprah's Wildest Dream come true.

Fantasy Football

by: Brian J.

Shout the words “fantasy football draft” in a crowded room to your friend, who wonders why you have to leave early, and see what kind of reaction you get. First of all, let’s be honest, most of the people who heard you stopped registering everything you said after the word “fantasy”, like you’ve broken some code of civility for proper company. Your friend, depending on how close you are, is either laughing at you, or hiding his face with his palm like he wishes he was anywhere but there. Any women within earshot are probably checking their watches wondering if their cat needs bathed and what time your mommy has set curfew.

Honestly, that’s how it feels most of the time when you have to tell someone about your addiction to the game. After a while, those of us that are really invested, start going to message boards where the rest of our kind gather to talk the talk. I’m told by a friend that some 50 million people play fantasy football. 50 million! If we united, the world would be ours! Well…we’d be cooler than the star-trek geeks anyway. But I get ahead of myself. You are probably one of the people who was around when I shouted, and even after someone who heard what I said clarified for you, there was still a small sense of unease within your gut about what any guy would be doing playing a game with the word “fantasy” involved. To which I say, “whatever dude.”
So anyway, here’s the deal with the game: there are 3 things you need to know.
1. There is a draft.
2. There is a basic format, which is customizable based on personal preference.
3. The actual performance of NFL players determines the outcome.

OQO 0.1

Is $2,000 too much to ask for in a handheld? I didn't think so either. The OQO 0.1 is a Windows XP based computer that fits in your pocket or purse...and according to the review and website can run your most complex applications.

20 GB hard drive, 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Firewire, USB port and a THREE HOUR BATTERY LIFE. It all sounds just fine and dandy until you get to that last point. 3 hours without battery life is very typical in my day...and this thing is made for the mobile business person in mind. Not the tethered to a generator business person.

Although I can clearly see where the business world would benefit from having an entire deck of information on a small handheld that could be linked to a projector or another machine, and the fact that this thing is back-ordered now is a testament to that but only 3 hours at 2 GR?!?! Think I will just wait for later versions to come along.