They’re not supposed to admit this, right???

So now Google thinks I’m a malicious website and is blocking some visitors. I may be guilty of posting unfunny things and letting the site languish for weeks on end, but I’m no spammer or spyware hosting-person. Anywho, I’m taking steps to resolve this. Thanks for your support, my minions…

Apparently this video is actually shown to teach people about workplace safety. Who in their right mind would actually want to work at this place? Seems a little dangerous. (NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!)

I just finished making an interactive version of the “Boys and Girls” installation mentioned in my previous post. Click the image to get started. Enjoy!

File this under “would someone please invent this for me?”

I already have a few of these types of “squid” power strips and they’re fantastic. But imagine if each one had a wi-fi chip so you could control the flow of power to each plug from an iPhone (or computer) app? That’s right - total mindfuck.

This way you could tag each individual outlet in your home (presumably you’d have a few of these babies scattered around) letting you turn anything on or off (or dim it) while either not getting off your ass or from another location. You could also program the iPhone app’s acceleratometer (assuming Apple lets us run background apps eventually) to detect if you’re out and about, turning off a specified set of lights and electronics in your home. …Or if the software hooked into the iPhone’s microphone you could make it a modern overpriced version of “The Clapper.” …Or you could have it automatically adjust the lighting based on the mood of the music it hears. …Or you could just talk to the damn thing. “Turn off the goddamn coffee machine.”

There are tons of other cool things you could do with this (many of which are marginally, if at all useful), but the possibilities are so endless that to me it just seems like a good fit.

I’m sure similar things exist already, but my hunch is that if someone came along and presented a polished, cheap, turn-key system they’d make a killing. Just not in this economy.

This is absolutely amazing. The best way I can think of to honor one of the world’s most epic rock songs.

Amazingly hilarious video. But epic fail on the illegible font in the end.

Want to see me tasting wine from the 1800s? Check out the hot Snooth cross-blogging action…

File this under “wish I’d thought of this”:

As with most videos of this nature, it’s best watched multiple times.

I met this guy named Mike at a party. He’s a lawyer by day and a painter by night. But not just any painter, a Microsoft Paint-er. Check out his blog where he posts his MS Paint creations. I must say, it’s pretty badass. mikedraw.blogspot.com. Some examples are below.

I saw a filming of “Life on Mars” the other day while on my way to work. I snapped a photo that didn’t seem too interesting at the time - an old-fashioned fire truck and police car, some extras dressed in 1950s garb, a big crew - the usual. But check out what I saw when I blew up the photo (below). Either there’s a scene that features the invisible man, or it’s a stunt man who’s going to be set on fire. My money’s with the fire one. Any viewers of Life on Mars want to let me know if I’m right in the coming weeks? Does anyone even watch that show?

Computer: Enhance! Enhance!

This video features a friend of a friend’s brother who’s a writer for The Sara Silverman Program. DO NOT WATCH THIS AROUND OTHER PEOPLE FOR THE FIRST TIME. Also don’t watch it if you’re under 18 or easily offended. If all this hype makes the video seem more exciting, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Watch it here

Geeking out on Wine

Among the bevy of things I’ve learned while working Snooth, one that caught me off guard (even though it’s pretty much the entire point of the site) is that it IS possible to know a lot about wine and not be a dick about it. I guess for a number of historical reasons, being “into” wine is seen as a pretty snooty endeavor, but the more I think about it and the more I learn, you can geek out about wine as much as you can geek out about anything.

Gregory Dal Piaz - a fellow Snoother, a Master of the Domaine (wait, that’s actually pretty funny), and a genuine nice guy - first got me thinking about this when he referred to his peers as fellow “wine geeks” rather than what I was expecting him to say - “wine snobs.” (True, while a snob would probably never admit to being one, it takes a true geek to refer to him/herself as a geek - it’s a basic tenant of Geek Pride.) So when Greg dropped that g-bomb, everything just became a lot clearer for me.

As with any topic, hobby, sports team, or other endeavor that inspires geeking, wine offers all the back-story, trivia, subtle distinctions, and of course - enjoyment - that makes it hold up as a pretty enjoyable thing to geek out about. Plus it can get you shitfaced. (Let’s see you try THAT, stamp collecting.)

So anyway, all this is what’s swirling around in my head as I read Greg’s latest blog post on the Snooth Blog, covering a blind tasting of Pinot Noirs for Thanksgiving. There’s a lot of no-nonsense, entertaining, and enlightening discussion about these wines (as well as a few well-placed curse words), and it’s all especially entertaining because nobody knows what they’re actually drinking until after all the reviews are done. Hence, none of the snottiness and all of the geekiness. It’s a lot of fun to read. (The photos are pretty good too. I’m just sayin…)

Geeky but fun question - how long has it been since you’ve restarted your computer? (If you’re a Mac user, the best way to find out is to open up the “Terminal” program inside your Applications > Utilities folder and type “uptime” without the quotes, then press return. Shazam.)

To the comments!

Do you ever have days when you feel privileged to know people who can make stuff this awesome?

Check out the trailer for Jason Pollock’s new documentary, “The Youngest Candidate.” Trailers don’t get much better than this.

PS - check out the movie’s website, http://www.theyoungestcandidate.com. It was designed by Shepard Fairey. Don’t know who Shepard Fairey is? He’s the guy that designed this. ‘Nuff said.

Ever wonder how creative professionals at a big ad agency goof off during brainstorming sessions? Check out markercomp.blogspot.com to see more. Full disclosure: this kicks ass.