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Archive for December, 2008

Dec 13 2008

Who is 13?

Published by japadamus under tv

So those of you House fans out there have probably noticed that Cameron has been replaced as the hot girl on the show by a new chick called ‘13’. Well, Cameron is still on the show, but her role has been severely reduced. And when you see 13 you know why.

She is hot. Super hot.

Not that Cameron is bad looking…she’s just more girl-next-door looking while 13 is flat out hot.

So, in any case, 13 is played by this chick Olivia Wilde. She’s had kind of a so-so career so far, and has played characters on The Black Donnellys and The O.C. She was also in Turistas, but other than that she hasn’t really been in anything notable.

In House though she fits the role well…and although she’s not a great actress she plays the role of 13 more or less believably.

The one ongoing joke is that her name hasn’t been revealed – everyone refers to her as 13, which was her number while being interviewed.

The 13 character is kind of a mess – she has Huntington’s and that makes her kind of f’ed up in the head. She’s also a lesbo, or bi. I’m guessing bi.

In any case, Olivia has been a great addition to House and I’m glad her role in the show has increased this year. She’s 24 and married…sadly. But I think she is slowly creeping up the hottest chicks on TV list.

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Dec 11 2008

Post game interviews in the locker room are a bad idea

Published by japadamus under Football

There’s a problem with post-game interviews in the locker room - guys are naked in there. And on live TV, there’s a chance some inappropriate images will get broadcast to the whole world.

That’s what happened to Fox this weekend following the Vikings/Lions game. The network was broadcasting the post game speech by coaches, but guess what, something slipped in.

As you can see in the image above some guy’s towel kind of slipped to the side, and well, he was exposed on national TV. Fox has apologized, but there is no word if the FCC will be fining the network like they did following Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction.

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Dec 09 2008

Woot! Off

Published by japadamus under Pakedamus

TJFKAK called this today, actually. There is a woot off going on, right now. Really, this is your last chance to get those last minute xmas gifts. I say last minute because anything you buy will probably not get there for a while. Check it out.

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Dec 08 2008

Walmart to sell $99 iPhone?

Published by japadamus under iPhone 3G

The web has been abuzz with rumors that Walmart will start selling a $99 iPhone this Christmas season. The $99 model, according to rumors, will have 4GB of storage and will be sold with a 2 year contract.

This follows speculation that Walmart will start selling the iPhone on December 28th – a rumor that has largely been confirmed.

I can see AT&T loving a $99 iPhone. At this price point they’d attract a lot of new customers for their relatively expensive iPhone service plans. But I don’t see why Apple would undercut more expensive iPhone models. Sure, AT&T would still support Apple with subsidies, but I’m not sure that even a $200 subsidy would come out in Apple’s favor in the end.

I’m also suspicious about the price vs. storage ratio. Sure, 4GB is less storage than the $299 16GB iPhone model…but the 12GB difference in memory isn’t really worth $200. I mean, the difference between the 4GB iPod Nano and 16GB iPod Nano is only around $100. Either AT&T is gonna heavily subsidize the iPhone 4GB or Apple is gonna take a huge hit by dropping the price of the device by $200 for only 12GB less storage.

I call BS on this rumor, although I do expect that Walmart will begin selling current versions of the iPhone by year’s end. This should be a bright note for Apple stock which has been battered recently.

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Dec 08 2008

Bailout?

Published by japadamus under Bob Loblaw

You can’t even look at Internet porn anymore without seeing an article about the auto bailout. The story goes like this - US auto makers are in trouble, they’re close to going bankrupt, and they need a government bailout in order to survive.

And that’s not even the good drama. A few weeks ago when auto execs flew to DC to request a bailout they used their own private planes. And they got shit for it. So, this week when then came back they drove.

So, are you for or against a bailout?

On one hand, if GM, Chrysler and Ford go broke then that’s 2 million less jobs in the US. That’s big, and it comes at a bad time - the US lost 500,000 jobs last month.

Plus, the big 3 US auto manufacturers have some sentimental value for the US as well. Really, how could the US let Ford fail?

The problem is, however, that the big 3 were failing before the whole subprime mess happened. The inability for customers to get financing just made the problem worse. I’d argue that the subprime mess came at a great time for the big 3, because now the government is handing out money. No subprime, no bailout.

The big 3 can’t sell cars because they make shitty cars. And people don’t like to buy shitty cars. They misjudged the impact of rising fuel costs, and they failed to change their product offerings to meet market demand. If a mom and pop store at the corner sells stuff that no one wants then they go out of business. They don’t get a bailout.

But, there are lots of people employed at these companies that would lose their jobs. That’s bad, right?

Well, these people are part of the problem. For years unions have increased the cost of doing business for the big 3. It’s not that I’m against worker rights and fair pay increases, but clearly unions have created a situation that is not sustainable. Unions have made it difficult for the big 3 to cut costs, and this is due in large part to greed on behalf of the workers.

There will be problems if 2 million workers lose their jobs all at once. That would mean really bad times for a number of cities. Like, really bad times. And the big 3 are really milking the thought of 2 million lost jobs.

But in reality, the big 3 won’t go broke all at once. More likely, the weaker of the 3 will fail and the other 2 will benefit from decreased competition. Not only that, but the prospect of another failure will really force unions to sit down and negotiate a workable pay structure. And if they strike, then there will be lots of workers still left out there who will cross picket lines.

So, the bailout is not japa approved. The big 3 are fucked because they have a poor business model - there is no indication that they will survive even after a bailout. The problem here is that the potential loss of 2 million jobs is heart wrenching. And bad for the Obama administration. No one will point the finger back at the unions, as they should.

In any case, it looks like some bailout plan is in the works and will be approved soon. It’ll be interesting to see if the big 3 can survive even after a bailout.

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Dec 06 2008

“Sloppy seconds” gets Avery suspended

Published by japadamus under hockey

Look, I’m not a big fan of out of control athletes that walk around with guns in their pants or that go around fighting dogs. But the NHL made an interesting move on this week by suspending controversial forward for the Dallas Stars Sean Avery for 3 games after he made comments about his ex girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert.

Now, to be clear, Avery’s statements were not classy. Essentially, he referred to his ex Cuthbert as ‘sloppy seconds’ prior to a game against her new boyfriend, Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. The exact quote:

“I’m really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada,” he said. “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don’t know what that’s about, but enjoy the game tonight.”

So, not a great quote right? But this is hardly something that requires a suspension from hockey. I mean, hockey is a game of fighting, hard checks and shit talking. Hand to hand combat frequently takes place during games with the only penalty being a 5 minute trip to the box. So why does a simple off-the-cuff remark get Avery 3 games?

I think this is an overreaction by the NHL. Sure, a fine is appropriate. But taking someone out of the game – that’s a big line to cross for some comments about an ex.

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Dec 04 2008

Sushi is sad because he lost his job.

Published by japadamus under food

Sushi is happy because he just bought a pressure cooker.

As I already was a huge fan of Crock Pot cooking, I decided to bite the bullet and step up my game with a pressure cooker. The slow braising method of cooking stews and tough meats is a thing of the past. You can cook soups and stews from scratch in 40 minutes. Today I attempted to make a classic oxtail soup. I merely braised the oxtails, added water, rice, ginger, green onions salt and pepper. Sound intimidating? NO WAY!

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Dec 03 2008

Hawaii to build electric car stations

Published by japadamus under news

Hawaii relies heavily on oil. More than 90% of the states energy needs are met with oil. The solution? Build electric car refueling stations.

Now, on the surface this seems like a decent idea. Hawaii is a good environment for testing new technologies and it would be great to improve the state’s environment. Plus, since you can’t drive out of the state, car buyers don’t have to worry about being unable to refuel electric cars.

But will building electric refueling stations work? It seems like a kind of field of dreams strategy – if you build it, they will come.

But I’m not sure if gas stations will be enough to drive electric car adoption. I mean, first of all hawaiians don’t drive very far – the island is small and commutes are short. That means gas bills are not huge, reducing the economic benefit of switching from gas to electric.

Plus, hawaii is one of those states where people hold on to their cars forever. You know you have tons of family members that have been driving the same 10+ year old toyota for ages. I mean, this goes back to the short driving distances – cars just last longer in the islands.

In any case, this will be an interesting experiment. There’s no word how much these refueling stations will cost, but I’m guessing these will be small stations that will be placed in parking lots. They have a few of these in the bay area – but sadly I have never seen one being used.

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Dec 01 2008

2.2 brings wireless podcasts

Published by japadamus under iPhone 3G

Apple released iPhone firmware version 2.2 a week back. There were a bunch of minor new features and bug fixes, of course. 2.2 also brought Google street view to the iPhone - although i can’t figure out how to use this feature. But the biggest improvement? Wireless podcast downloads.

Previously, you needed to hook up your iphone to your computer to download podcasts. This was a bummer if you were far from a desk and needed some new content.

With 2.2, you can download most podcasts wirelessly from the iPhone’s 3G connection. The only catch is the podcast must be less than 10MB in order to download via a cellular connection.

This is an awesome feature that is incredibly useful. Instead of waiting a few days to sync your podcasts, you can get whatever you want immediately. It’s awesome to download new content while you’re on the road or at the gym…it’s almost like having a radio.

My favorite podcasts come from NPR. I’m amazed that a public radio station has the resources to develop such great content. This American Life is my favorite, but there are tons of daily podcasts like Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation that are interesting and informative.

Aside from NPR, you can get regular shows like 60 minutes, which is great if you don’t want to watch the whole episode on TV. The Wall Street Journal also has a great daily news podcat that is a good source for financial news.

I also love the Engadget podcast. I don’t know if this is appealing to anyone else, but the Engadget podcast is really a few geeks just talking about tech products. Like, the had a long conversation about the RIM Bold and Storm…and if you like hearing people talk about phones, well, this is for you. Personally, I find it strangely entertaining.

In any case, 2.2 is a big update for the iPhone and you should all update if you haven’t already.

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December 2008

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