Author: Heath

31
Mar
2007
12:36

Lifehacker: Geeky Overload

Thanks to my friend, Jon, I have discovered Lifehacker. I so love this site. Since discovering it, I have started using:

  • Rocketdock and Launchy, two kick ass programs that increase the efficiency of using my computer.

I also discovered

  • IZarc, a great free archive program for dealing with .zip, .rar and other archive types
  • Gaim, a free multi platform IM program (like Trillian, except it’s open source and free but I haven’t had a chance to actually try it out yet) and
  • Paint.net which is a great free alternative for anyone who can’t afford Photoshop (GIMP is another free alternative)
  • Free Download Manager and DownThemAll, 2 free download manager/accelerator programs which speed up your downloads and allow you to resume downloads if they’re stopped for any reason (by your own hand or by a crash/restart, etc). I prefer FDM, but DTA is good if you often find yourself wanting to mass download all the links on a page (such as downloading all images on a page or all mp3s on a page)
  • Firebug which allows you to see the HTML and CSS of any page you’re viewing and let’s you make changes to the code right there in your browser and see the changed immediately (obviously it doesn’t actually change the code on the server but just temporarily in your browser).

I was already using ExplorerXP and several other recommended plugins and programs.
In general I’ve found Lifehacker’s opinions and suggestions indispensable.

19
Mar
2007
13:01

Locked up, Day 1

As Jess wrote here,I am now locked up in a medical research facility until April 1. After doing our taxes, both Larry and I suddenly realized we needed to do another Medical Research study to get some more cash influx and allow us to continue our lives as artists concentrating on our craft. We went to a screening, which consists of listening to someone meticulously read through the mound of paperwork for about an hour or more and then having a battery of tests performed such as urine collection, ECG, vital signs, having blood drawn, etc.

Continue reading…

09
Mar
2007
22:30

Damn Dirty Apes

I just realized something I haven’t written about yet. Larry and I have been writing and rehearsing an original improv/sketch comedy show with our friend, Jon Steele (his real name). It all started a couple of months ago when we decided we wanted to put something together and by the end of the first rehearsal we already had almost an entire show’s worth of ideas to flesh out. There’s a few strictly scripted pieces, but most are just loose skeletons that we improv around. They’re still kind of scripted but just not strictly. They’re more like specific plot points to create the basic story flow and resolution with room to play. We also have a few pieces that are just a very loose concept and are improv’d from audience submitted suggestions. We’ve done two test performances in our living room for friends and have received very positive feedback.
We’ve settled on the name “Damn Dirty Apes” for our troupe and the show is called “The Madhouse” as there is a running set of sketches involving me as Charlton Heston.
I wanted to present two of my favorites to here now. Naturally they are the fully scripted pieces since I can’t really present any of the improv pieces.
The first one is “Arnold Schwarzenegger’s General Store”.
The second is one I’m particularly proud of, as we’ve taken one of the most basic lowbrow comedy staples, the dick joke, and turned into one of the most densely pun and innuendo packed and dare I say, intelligent pieces we’ve written. It is known to us as “Dickin’ Around”.
We hope to start booking the show soon and perhaps participating in some of the improv Olympics that go on weekly around here.

27
Feb
2007
22:50

“Email this entry…”

Lots of websites and blogs have a little link down at the bottom that says “Email this article to a friend” or something similar. This came up in a conversation tonight and I decided I wanted to add links to “Email this article to a friend”, “Email this article to an enemy”, and “Email this article to a disinterested third party”, purely for the humor of having those links more than any actual functionality. Then I read about how in the past spammers have used this functionality to spam people and make it look like it’s coming from you, so that pretty much put the brakes on my desire to add that functionality just for the sake of a joke. Stupid spammers. Really one of the lowest life forms on the planet.

25
Feb
2007
17:18

The Beatles: “Love”

For Christmas I received not one, but two copies of the new Beatles album, “Love” which I had desperately been wanting ever since learning of it. For anyone who doesn’t know, Cirque Du Soleil wanted to do a Beatles themed show so George Martin and his son Giles took the original Beatles master tapes, put them in a metaphorical blender and came up with some amazing musical casseroles, some pieced together like Frankenstein’s monster, with amazing results. Some songs have the vocals from one song set to the music from a completely different song with various textures from even more songs thrown in, while some other songs are changed very little from the originals but almost everything has at least some small subtle bits from other songs creeping in.
I definitely think the die hard Beatles fans (like myself) will reap the deepest rewards from this collection but even more casual Beatles fans can’t miss the more extreme remixes and sound collages which, in my opinion, are by far the best and most amazing. This album continues to elicit goose bumps from me even several after listenings. I’m just about as big a Beatles fan as there is but I have yet to be able to trace each bit of each song back to its origin. The end of “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite” mixed with “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” sounds to me like a pristine aural representation of Hell, and I mean that in a wonderful, pure genius way. Listening to this album is like being caught in some strange wormhole where the entire Beatles catalog exists as one living, breathing entity; time and space ripple and fold back on themselves as sounds and images fade and meld into each other and through you.
I’ve evangelized for years about the genius of George Martin and how I think his role as producer had as much effect on the end result of Beatles records as the 4 Beatles themselves had in writing and playing them and I think this album puts his talents on display more than ever. Just listen to “Anthology” and you can hear a demo of a good song end up as a true masterpiece due in no small part to Martin’s input.
The album is also available in two formats, standard CD, and a double CD+DVD version which includes the whole album (with some slightly longer versions of some songs) in 5.1 surround sound. This is an absolute must hear. Absolutely one of the most creative and amazing things I’ve heard in a long time.

21
Feb
2007
23:52

News Flash from the Republican party

BS Newswire:
In their continuing efforts to counter the buzz surrounding presidential hopeful Barack Obama, the republican party released this statement:

We’ve already touched on how “Obama” sounds frighteningly close to “Osama” and how his middle name is “Hussein”, but we think this latest link can not be ignored. How could any patriotic American not be concerned about the similarity of the names “Barack” and “Baraka”. For those who do not know, “Baraka” was a monstrous enemy in the popular and exceedingly violent video game, “Mortal Kombat”. As you can see in this photo, he had a demonic, clearly anti-Christian visage and two deadly metal swords in his forearms. The only logical conclusion to the parallels between these two entities is that if we let Barack Obama into the Oval Office, he will most likely perform a “fatality” on this country. If you support Obama, then you are obviously a freedom-hating demon lover who wants to see America have its skull and spine ripped out in one fluid motion and then mockingly shown to its own momentarily standing body.


20
Feb
2007
14:20

The Question

Edward James Olmos
Would you spoon or be spooned by?
We must all ask oursleves

20
Feb
2007
14:16

Today’s question:

Somehow, from one of the labyrinthine jokes and conversations between Jess, Larry and I, came this:
Would you rather spoon or be spooned by Edward James Olmos?

16
Feb
2007
20:47

The Jacket

I have the jacket
It’s far from perfect but cool
Still a damn fine coat

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