Recent Comments:
Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen reader officially announced... for real {Engadget}
Oct 20th 2009 6:12PM The in-store book browsing is a killer-app. I'm betting BN is going to start expanding their cafes, too. Instead of selling people one-time-use things like books, why not sell them food and an experience?
Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen reader officially announced... for real {Engadget}
Oct 20th 2009 6:08PM * sticks head into room, shakes head *
@rick et al: Yes, Trees that die do re-release the carbon back into the atmosphere. However, in there are a lot of considerations you are not accounting for.
1) We need carbon sinks, which means living flora, to offset the fossil carbon we are releasing into the atmosphere. Trees are among the best at this sort of thing.
2) Trees typically live for several dozen to several hundred years. Farmed trees rarely get beyond 30 years old, so we're not maximizing carbon sink potential of these trees.
3) De-forestation means there are fewer trees on the planet, especially in one of the best carbon sinks in the world, the Amazon rainforest. Trees elsewhere can help offset THAT damage.
4) The amount of carbon it takes to make a tree into paper is significant, and cannot be overlooked.
5) As global temperature rises, the sink capability of the worlds oceans falls, making the need for trees even greater. Think warm soda versus cold soda, and which holds carbonation better.
I assume that the Nook has its own carbon impact. That said, after purchase, the carbon impact of the books you buy becomes very small. In the long run, you're saving trees, energy, and local environmental damage that paper production causes.
Heroes: Tabula Rasa {TV Squad}
Oct 20th 2009 12:17PM Regarding Peter's "mental block", if there was any reason for that to have broken, it would be a shotgun to the heart, wouldn't it?
Glee: Throwdown {TV Squad}
Oct 15th 2009 6:27PM Since when were people only one thing? I appreciate the fact that they're all flawed people who don't think that they are "good" or "bad".
Take Quinn, who I think is one of the most interesting characters - smart (wasn't flunked by Shu, and had an easy time with the test), talented athletically and musically, and a general high school superstar, and she flaunted it. Then, she got pregnant (through cheating, no less), and is now having an existential crisis. The end of the episode was pitch-perfect (autotune notwithstanding) in capturing that she's losing composure.
My main problems with the show are three:
1) The women are presented as, generally, manipulative and selfish, lacking ethos. The men (except Noah) are generally presented as misguided by good intentions. Sue, Quinn, Rachel, Terri, and even Jayma (err, Emma) have done unsavory/unfair things to promote their own agendas, and are not presented as remorseful. Meanwhile, though Shu and Finn thought about cheating, ultimately the show holds Emma and Rachel responsible as the sirens who encouraged the men to stray. Even Quinn is forced to deal with the consequences of her own cheating, while Noah is basically off the hook.
2) Too much post-production and autotune. These are high schoolers. They should sing like it a little more. The first time I felt like there were actually a bunch of (talented) kids singing was during the jam session. More of that please.
3) The vocal leads. Finn has an okay voice, but he's no vocal lead. Clearly, he was picked for his look first, and voice second. I suspect Noah actually has a better voice, but they can't show that off. Meanwhile, Mercedes has the best female voice, followed closely by Rachel and Quinn. Again, she's got the wrong look and is not the leading lady.
I'm from New England but I don't understand the new McDonald's commercial {TV Squad}
Sep 30th 2009 5:27PM After 4 watchings, I still think he's asking if the guy's from New England. Maybe a better way to have done this would have been...
Guy 1: "Bruins or Rangers?"
Guy 2: "Whalers"
I'm from New England but I don't understand the new McDonald's commercial {TV Squad}
Sep 30th 2009 5:25PM I'm with you, Gilbert. I think it's pretty obvious that he wants to know where the guy's from. Either way, I grew up in MA and live in New York, so that brings me back.
Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony align on Mobile High-Definition Link {Engadget}
Sep 29th 2009 10:26AM As DR House says... Isn't Mini-HDMI that small-form-factor they're looking for?
I mean, I admit that HDMI has its problems (namely the DRM craziness), but it is at least an adopted standard.
Frankfurt 2009: Facelifted 2010 Volvo C30 gets it right {Autoblog}
Sep 16th 2009 1:18PM @Jonny: I think Volvo has a huge market for this, except the people who want it can't afford it, or want more fuel-efficiency (or both). Like me. I've drooled after it since it was but a concept car. Give me a C30 ReCharge at or below $30K, and I'll be a happy camper.
Mad Men: The Fog {TV Squad}
Sep 14th 2009 11:59AM I feel as though this season is doing the same thing T:SCC did in its second season - slowly threading a lot of plot strands together into a huge narrative arc that will end with a crash. To me, these first few episodes of season three are essentially a pregnant pause (literally and figuratively).
At the season's beginning, all the characters were placed into positions of impending monumental transition where they could only act as if nothing is really new. The lead women were the first to see change in their lives: Peggy intentionally transforming herself is the first domino to fall, along with Joan's realization that she's too good for her husband. The last two episodes have been Betty realizing that she wants to be more than a housewife.
Pete (and Pryce) realizing that "integration" is useful is another domino. This dovetails with Pete's apparent disgust with Sterling's blackface routine.
Best line of the episode...
Pete: "Where are you going?"
Peggy: "To the ladies' room. You want to join me?"
Engadget's back to school giveaway part 2: win an Xbox 360 prize pack! {Engadget}
Sep 8th 2009 9:40AM I'd definitely like this. :)
