Cats in Sinks
From the “why didn’t I think of that” file (or the “glad I didn’t think of that file”, can’t decide):
No, really.
A Couple of My Recent Youtube Faves
Little Superstar
Chiru
Meet Blogitron
The concept is simple: blogs meet webring. A little new school and a little old school without too much studying. Van matched the look to that too: Web 2.0-y logo with a CGA-like look. Add yer blog and party like it’s 1986, 1996 and 2006 at the same time.
Love Those Blackout Rules
Blackout rules, those rules which don’t allow you to watch away broadcasts of your favorite team’s games or view them online have once again proved how useful they are for some NY Time Warner customers.
Time Warner Cable in Manhattan doesn’t have a set station for Yankees broadcasts. They have a couple of specials channels, and whenever there’s a game in HD, the channel changes from “Off Air” to the game. They generally include the pre-game and then a 7.5 hour block for the game afterwards. I’ve seen some people who are able to watch this specials channel all the time (it’s always YES), but I’m not one of them.
The Yankees and Red Sox are playing a double header today. The first game, 1pm start, was broadcast on Fox. For some reason the HD Specials channel had the game scheduled on the guide, but if you went to it, you saw nothing but a gray screen. So, even though it doesn’t look like Fox actually broadcasts the game in 720p like they do for their primetime shows, it’s still nice to watch it widescreen and I do.
Fast forward to 8pm. The second game is about to start and it’s not scheduled on the HD Specials channel - but the channel is still active from the first game, scheduled to go off at 830pm. A few seconds after my cable box blinked 830 the broadcasts freezes and the screen goes gray. I call TW and explain the situation to the person on the other end. They might have understood the situation in full at first, but after I’m put on hold and told others are calling in I know they do now. Doesn’t help any, it’s 1h20m later and the channel’s still not accessible (chances are someone just scheduled the wrong game for the specials channel).
Here’s where the blackout rules come into play: INHD has the game on. If that channel weren’t also gray right now, I’d be able to watch it, even if it’s just a simulcast of NESN HD, but MLB won’t let that happen.
I’m not completely in the dark. I do have the standard broadcast of the game, but the HD setup wasn’t free. This game is on three channels, and the two I want to watch aren’t available, one due to my cable company’s mess up, the other due to MLB “protecting” the local broadcaster (the same reason why I can’t watch the game online).
The Potential of Wii
Jeremy’s down on the Wii, which is launching in two months.
I’m on the flip-side here. I have to give some credit to Nintendo. They’ve completely moved away from the “mine’s bigger/faster/prettier” thing that MS and Sony have going on and just concentrated on playing a game and having fun. I won’t make the same mistake I did with the DS/PSP choice. The DS continually puts out games I don’t recognize that well, but are really fun, and the Wii has the potential for the same.
I know I’ll be getting it, and early. The lineup does look “just ok” now, but I have a more open mind about what I might actually like after my experiences with the DS and hell, even the Xbox 360. The simple Live Arcade games sometimes keep me entertained more than the $60 blockbusters.
I think the Wii is going to be huge. More and more people have more than one console. This is where being #2 might turn into being #1.
While I think the Wii will have less games, it will have online play (Mario Party or Kart+online play might be bigger than anything we’ve seen yet) and the classics will be huge, even if the library isn’t (at first). I also think the price point is far from nearly identical.
As we wait and see how this plays out, I’ll be attempting to play my fair share.
Crash
Recently I’ve been searching for a more robust backup/redundancy system for my data. Too late - my main external drive crashed last night. I’m currently trying to recover as much as possible. Ack. This is right after I shut down hockeyfights.com for a few hours yesterday tinkering with the server.
“Bad computer day”.
However, the freaking out has led to a crash course and kick in the pants for backup solutions (the Thecus N5200 is currently in my sights). If I can recover some data, have it stay stable for a week (not too much to ask, right?) then I should be set, or so I think.
Update Aug 8 1130am: I have recovered most files from my dead-ish hard drive. Suddenly everything seems better 
You Never Learn
If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times - avoid deck chairs when you have shrinkage.
His testicles had shrunk while in the cool sea and slipped through the wooden slats when he sat back down on his wooden deckchair.
But as he lay in the sun they expanded back to normal size and got stuck between the slats.
Now go find some shorts and watch where you sit.
AOL Hearts Tux
I’ve been listening to AOL Radio a good amount recently. They have some good XM stations and a lot of access is free to all.
While I’m used to seeing the little AOL icon as the favicon (that’s the little image in the url bar of your browser), I was a little surprised when Tux made an appearance:
I’m assuming whatever server package and setup AOL is using to stream their radio stations has this icon in the root directory and no one bothered to remove it. That or someone is showing some love to Linux in the AOL camp.
TMNT Back Again
There’s a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming out next year and it while it’s just a teaser, it looks pretty cool.
No more live action, they’ve gone the CGI, Pixar-like route, which is possibly what would have worked best all along. TMNT is being done by IMAGI.
Kitten With Two Faces
Here’s a kitten with two faces, in case you needed some weird for your day.