Zen Through Technology

The Great American Run: Cannonball Run Returns!

dougcgrubbs — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:44:52 +0000

Not much to say about this that can’t be said in one phrase: Hell Yes!

The Great American Run descended from the Cannonball Run, the celebration of unfettered speed moto-journalist Brock Yates founded in 1971. The only point was crossing the country as quickly as possible. It was blatantly illegal and wildly popular — it’s spawned two movies and several imitators – until the 55 mph speed limit and a lot of heat from the cops shut it down in 1979. (By the way, the current record for crossing the country stands at 31 hours and 4 minutes, set by Alex Roy and Dave Maher during a flat-out run that Wired wrote about.)

Bright Kite

dougcgrubbs — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:37:22 +0000

Ok. I really like to try out new social networking sites. Usually they only last for a little while at best, but sometimes they turn into Twitter, and I can’t get enough. Well, thanks to @nowsourcing on Twitter I have a new toy. Bright Kite is a social networking site that works very similar to the way my GPS on my phone works with other Helio phones. You update where you are, being as precise as you like, and it sends that out to all of the people on your friends list. Now, that itself sounds boring. But when you think that you can do this from your phone, upload a pic snapped on your cell, and then text a quick message to describe what you are doing, or what cool thing that you discovered, it starts to get more interesting. Now you can not only tell your friends how bad ass the party is that they are missing, you can show them, and you can pinpoint exactly where it is on Google maps.
The only problem with it is that it is still in Beta, and just like Gmail once was, it is invite only. So, if you hear anyone talking about it, ask for an invite and try it out. I would offer you mine, but I have sent all mine, so until I get more, keep your ear to the ground. If you want one, just email me, and if they give me anymore invites I’ll pass them along. Until then, just look at my profile and wish you had one

NES Controller Mod, May Just be Most Fun Coffee Table Ever

dougcgrubbs — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:31:13 +0000

Forget touchscreen, solar powered or even self-destructing coffee tables… Kyle Downes has modded the coffee table into its best version ever: a retro-tastic NES controller. Just look at the sleek lines, the high quality finish and classy glass top. And then giggle at the fact that it actually works. Don’t believe it? Check out the video

read more | digg story

Test: Does Your ISP Slow Down BitTorrent Traffic?

dougcgrubbs — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:15:26 +0000

Hundreds of larger and smaller ISPs all over the world try to limit BitTorrent traffic on their networks. Unfortunately, most companies are not very open about their network management solutions, with Comcast as the prime example. Thanks to the Glasnost project, you can now test wheter your ISP is one of the bad guys.

read more | digg story

EarthBotched: A History of Nintendo vs. Starmen

dougcgrubbs — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:58:24 +0000

Shacknews editor Aaron Linde goes in depth on the history behind EarthBound journey to the Wii’s Virtual Console. READ IT!

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new trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT

dougcgrubbs — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:56:26 +0000

not the jokerized bootleg version either

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Lose A Finger? Put Some Powder On It

dougcgrubbs — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:45:38 +0000

Man lost his finger…and was able to regrow it using a powder composed from the cells of a pig’s bladder. Watch the video. Crazy isn’t the word for it. HE REGREW HIS FINGER IN 4 WEEKS! %@#$!!!!

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LOLcat Hiring! Spelling Skillz Optional

dougcgrubbs — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:13:17 +0000

I can haz dream job? Seriously, someone needs to hook me up.

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Once (2007)

dougcgrubbs — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:15:06 +0000

Netflix found it in it’s heart today to send me Once. Let me start off by saying that this was a great movie. However, if you are expecting Across the Universe, then you will be disappointed. This is a movie where the songs are songs, not a form of narrative. That said, they are great songs. Everyone of them is emotional and meaningful, and it seems like, even though they practiced these many many times, they still have meaning to the artists.

The story revolves around a street musician (Guy, played by Glen Hansard) and an immigrant flower girl (Girl, played by Markéta Irglová) who cross paths and semi-hit it off romantically. After a week or so together he says that he is leaving town, and that he wants to record his songs in the studio with her playing the piano before he goes. She agrees and they gather some more backing musicians. Instead of degrading into a romance movie where the couple falls in love, they take a more realistic approach to love and show that, even though two people might be made for each other, life often has other plans, and getting these two lovers together might be more difficult than you would think.

All in all, it might be able to qualify as a “chick-flick” or “make-out movie”, but only if you are a jerk and can’t appreciate a good movie. You’ll be hard pressed to find much Hollywood in this, but being that it was shot for less that 200k, it’s not a big surprise, and definatly not missed. So, if you like musicals about real people in real life, and not just a bunch of singing and dancing, this is your movie. If you like High School Musical, then stay away, you’ll only be disappointed.

5/5 stars

World’s First Energy Efficient OLED Lamp

dougcgrubbs — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:46:53 +0000

“It’s an exciting time for OLED technology as it finally begins to integrate into the home and designers start to realize its potential for efficient and inexpensive lighting solutions in a variety of stunning new applications. Resembling a tiny tree blossoming with lucent leaves, Ingo Maurer’s Early Future lamp is the world’s first OLED lamp.”

read more | digg story