Apple App Store – 10 Billion Already? January 20, 2011

Apple is racing to meet (and beat) America’s national debt in the numbers of apps downloaded from the App Store. They are celebrating in similar style as they did back in April of 2009, when they hit the 1 billion download mark, by offering a $10,000 Apple iTunes gift card to the person who makes this year’s historic download.

Apple is entering 2011 with record iPad sales figures and climbing stock valuations, as enthusiasts and experts increase company hype, despite Steve Jobs’ recent absence from the helm. Fans are waiting impatiently for next-generation models like the iPad 2 and the iPhone 5, expected this spring and summer.

You can view the contest’s progress here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/10-billion-app-countdown/

Why I Love RedBox [UPCOMING] July 30, 2010

Redbox may hold the final convincing I need to purchase that shiny new Blu-ray player that’s all the rage these days; (yes, I still watch and purchase DVD’s) but the company known for distributing $1 movie rentals through conveniently located red kiosks has done something UNHEARD OF again: offering high quality Blu-ray movies from the very same (Red) box.

Variety reports the company that is poised to put Blockbuster stores in the grave (with the helpof Netflix), will be offering a variety of high definition Blu-ray films at many of their locations.

What does it COST? That’s the amazing part. Redbox says Blu-ray titles from their kiosks will cost $1.50 per day. (You read that right, a Dollar and Fifty Cents)

* In the opinion of this writer, I would have been willing to pay $2 a day for the  difference. It seems Redbox wants to make another strong statement with this low-cost offer of a high quality option.

Beating The Boss: A Hack at Video Games and Life July 16, 2010

Why do they call the final opponent at the end of video game levels the “Boss?”
I can easily remember times growing up, hearing from a fellow player, “Okay, get ready. This is the boss level.”

“Boss” level?

Yep. You know the gig. 1 on 1; to the death.

But on many platforms, our workplaces can give us the feel of a game, whether we like them, or feel trapped inside.

If you work in a place with lots and lots of cubicles, I am sure Pac-Man has a whole different meaning to you. You may just want to make it through the day, avoid being eaten, and eliminate your adversaries (don’t forget the cherries!).

Pac-Man may seem like a stretch; and granted, at the end of a long work day, most people don’t have to go and defeat a radio-active mutant creature by shooting at it with your double wielded pistols and unlimited ammo.

But are bosses really all that bad?

It depends on who you ask.

Anyone who has ever played Mario knows that Bosses are evil and must be destroyed- usually by throwing them into a lava pit or blowing them up (take your pick).

However, the world of corporate ladders tells us that if we work hard enough and long enough, we might get promoted someday and actually BE the Boss.

Of course, there are always cheat codes or “Game Genies,” (remember those?) and those fun “glitches” still abundant today that let you avoid the “Boss.”

But in the work world?

Of course.

You could start your own business; become one of those e-words running around with never enough hours in the day. And you really don’t have to go very far in order to run into an entrepreneur. You probably pass them on the street daily without knowing.

It goes without saying, but being your own Boss is hard work. So whether you are one, or work under one, this writer poses a challenge: work hard and work well at whatever you do. It makes the fact that you actually have a job more satisfying, and keep any sense of entitlement on the sidelines.

Philip DeFranco and the Art of YouTube (Last Show?) April 22, 2010

You probably won’t see this as a headline on Mashable.com or other other social internet websites, and I even went back and forth over whether to write this post or not, but it seemed necessary (and even has a good ending if you read the whole thing).

On Thursday, March 22, 2010, Philip DeFranco (sxephil) of the YouTube hit “The Philip DeFranco Show” announced his halt of the show after some 2+ years of talking about and reacting to selected news stories 3-4 days per week, not including other YouTube startups such as his more personal and daily “Vloggity” channel, and more viewer friendly and interactive “Like Totally Awesome” show, dedicated to video games and films, among other content.

Now, while this isn’t the first time sxephil has called for the end of his PDS, only time will tell what the outcome will be. A quick scroll through the comments of the latest “last” video reveals an audience split on reaction to the new direction, including the most amount of “dislikes” this writer has seen on any Philip DeFranco Show video since that feature became available.

In the video, the 24 year old said, “I am a creature of change, of evolution; and what many people see as stable, I see as stagnant.” And in taking the side of the internet, (and I would if I were you) this can be seen as a strategic move for the YouTube star; one that could even be described as necessary.

This can be related to a surfer that has caught a rediculously massive wave:

You’ve made your way in and you’re on it, there is good form, and you’re in the center of the sweet spot; everything around you appears to fade away for the time being. It seems like it could go on forever, and even looking ahead, you can’t see any signs of the water changing pace. But with one shift of body weight to the board, you quickly change your parallel position with the wave to one perpendicular to the shore, en route to a sandy beach.

Standing on the shore, one look back justifies the wave: unlike any other; and the ride: just as sweet. But the day is young, and the water, still churning up miles of deep blue crested with white. Now it is time to go get back out there, catch a different wave, and do something new; and while not quite like the last, a wave all it’s own.

These words here are not the ones of everyman, but “that” man, who thrives on the ever-changing world of the web, one that can fall through your fingers just as you think you have any grip on it. So don’t. Let it be. Or do. Change with it. Or better yet, be the change.

“A rolling stone gathers no moss.” “Complacency kills.”

In the opinion of this writer, I am reluctant, but will say that the Philip DeFranco Show ending was needed at some point, if not forced. ”It has been a blast killing the world with you,” said DeFranco, relating his number of viewers over time in a parody relation to Earth Day. As a believer in internet video, I am intrigued to see what’s next.

Iran President Spotted in Willy Wonka Sequel [PIC] April 16, 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be sporting the latest “Wonka-Vision” glasses in this picture, but he’s actually sporting these odd goggles as protection during an exhibition of Iran’s laser science, in Tehran.

Ruzbeh Jadidoleslam/AP PHOTO

Could You Survive Without Your Car? April 9, 2010

I just realised

that I’m most likely part of a small minority in my area, just because of where I live. My current housing situation puts me within a half-mile of my place of employment, local grocery store, gym, public library, at least 5 banks, my city courthouse, 1 theatre, and a handful of local restaurants.

This is good news in case my car ever breaks down (as I don’t have another one) or if gas prices go back up to unreasonable rates. I actually put this to the test back a couple of years ago when gas prices were unreasonable. They are still mostly unreasonable today, but I, like everyone else, put up with it (and hope electric cars sell really cheap).

However, while my current location puts me in quick access of many major staples of modern life: food, employment, business, entertainment; those entities are limited by selection in such a close proximity. For everything you gain, you also lose – the closest movie theater is at least 5 miles away (so is Wal-Mart), and the closest shopping mall and most of the fast food restaurants in my area are at least a mile or more out.

So what to do if I want (or need) to go further and don’t want to (or can’t) walk all the way? Fortunately my city has a public transit system that can fill the gap in between where I can walk to, and those places further away. Now, public transit isn’t free (at least not here) but it IS  cheap. For about half a dollar you can make trips to just about any area within the city between 6am and 6pm. The transit system was developed by the city’s chamber of commerce and green initiative. For me, I like the idea (I don’t see too many people riding, but that is more because of the ways of this area).

Could you survive? Or do you find yourself in the majority of people who live a long way from where you shop, and even farther from where you work? In addition, what if you were close enough to ditch the Dodge and take your 2 feet where you are going? Would you do it?

In the opinion of this writer, kissing our cars goodbye is something that we all publicly aspire to, and when given the opportunity, even temporarily, we choose to cling to the marriage between us and our automobiles, and continue in the comforts of what we are already used to.

Sometimes I Feel Like We All Need More Things Like This… March 30, 2010

This is a very basic happiness flowchart. Or for all you Will Smith fans, happyness. Sometimes I feel like we all need more things like this to give us simple answers to everyday questions and problems. If only life were only this simple.

YOU JUST GOT… KE$HA’D!!! March 22, 2010

Found my way over to DailyBooth today…

And found this picture in a stream from Squalledprincess.  It has the Best Comment Thread Ever! I don’t think I would have ever thought of that.. so kudos to you who did all the posting of commentzzz… Good stuff and way to go.

And no, I don’t have a DailyBooth account. Maybe someday I’ll get one too… but right now it just seems like too many things to have at the moment… :)

Click the pic below to see the thread.

Sharing PostSecret Secrets Live! Tour 2010 March 18, 2010

Do you have secrets? A man named Frank Warren wants you to share them with him (or the world).  Warren is a small business person-turned activist and public speaker (not to mention book author) who is now known around the world for collecting secrets from everyone and everywhere. Frank Warren’s original project-now turned phenomenon has hundreds of thousands of secret containing post cards making their way to his mailbox. And he reads them. ALL of them. He then shares certain ones of his choosing on his weblog, HERE.

A daunting task at first glance, but these duties of his choosing are hardly duties at all.  It is a labor of love for Frank, who works to raise money from all avenues including book sales to go toward suicide prevention.

In 2005, The All American Rejects approached Warren about using actual PostSecret images in their ‘Dirty Little Secret’ music video. They offered Warren $1,000, but instead he asked them to donate $2,000 to 1(800) SUICIDE where Warren is a volunteer.  The donation was made, and the music video became one of the most requested on MTV.  Warren continues to receive between 100 and 200 postcards everyday. He updates his Web site on Sundays and is working to produce more PostSecret books.



FOR UPCOMING TOUR DATES CLICK HERE: PostSecret Live! Tour



The video is a sneak peek (and front row seat) at a recent PostSecret Live! Tour stop at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. The first 5 minutes or so is all we were allowed to capture.

How To Transform Your Hoodie Into A Laptop Sleeve March 17, 2010

Here’s a cool way to protect your lappy with only the sweater off your back…