Another tidbit I came across today – this piece of wisdom from about 16 months ago in the American Conservative, of all places. It is a strange thing indeed when I find myself agreeing rather wholeheartedly with most of an article from such a publication, but that*s the situation I find myself in today.

http://tinyurl.com/zigk

Something guaranteed to make you say things like “OMG, that is the cutest thing ever!” The writing*s good, too, here at Dog Blog.

Amazon has posted a laptop from ViewSonic that, well, it could change your life.

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

* Hardware Platform: PC
* Processor: 10.00 GHz AMD Athlon
* Number of Processors: 1
* RAM: 2000 MB
* RAM Type: DIMM

Operating System and Software

* Operating System: DOS

Hard Drive

* Size: 30000 GB
* Type: IDE

All this for only $2300. And in case you were wondering if this is on the up and up, Amazon*s helpful user reviews have this to say.

This laptop is the bargain of the decade. 10.00GHZ of power. I use one to currently calculate the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

I even caught it calculating on how to make the perfect cup of tea. The speed that this laptop can move at is nothing short of outstanding. Shame it doesn*t have legs though.

If you can afford the outlay, go buy one, my local chippy has two!

Get em quick folks cause I am willing to bet that this laptop will not be on the site for long!

Eric Burns* excellent site Websnark chronicles his love of (or obsession with) the webcomic industry. In less than a year, his critiques have become wildly popular by other fans – and by people like me, who just like his writing. When he reviews (or in his terminology, Snarks) a strip, people take notice. As with any critic, he is expressing an opinion, which I will often but by no means always agree with.

There are two things that set Burns apart from many other critics, in my view. First, the man can actually write. I*ve heard people say that if Kevin Spacey read the phone book for 2 hours, they*d buy a ticket because he*s just THAT good. Some of Eric Burns* stuff is like that – I don*t care what the topic is, I*ll read what he has to say because it*s a pleasure to invest my time in his work.

The second difference is perhaps more important – he*s not an elitist, and he doesn*t come across as loathing the very industry that he critiques. The man loves comics. He*s a fan, and completely unashamed of it. He doesn*t suggest that webcomics take on some sort of social significance, or try to justify them as “the last bastion of creative expression” or something else. He just, well, really loves them, the way they make him laugh and the way they tell stories and the way they allow the artists and the writers to express themselves. So, because he loves these things, he writes about them. A lot.

Today, something changed. Eric began his own comic, Gossamer Commons, along with an artist named Greg Holkan. He is overwhelmingly excited about it, and pretty obviously scared to death. Not, I think, because he fears criticism, but because he fears not being able to actually turn his vision into something that others can see and feel too. The fact that he is so plainly worried about that, but takes the risk to make this thing happen anyway, tells you something about him (and, indeed, about anyone who creates ANYTHING).

One of the things that strikes me about Mr. Burns’ website is that he goes out of his way to heap praise on everyone other than himself. In the FAQ, he has this to say about the division of labor:

Eric created the original story and plot, and writes the scripts. Greg draws all of the art and co-plots the execution of every strip. The creative process is a partnership — Eric describes plot to Greg, who bounces back suggestions to Eric, who then throws a script to Greg, who then bounces ideas and suggestions to Eric, who makes his own suggestions back. Greg then draws the strip, and bounces it off Eric, who makes any last second suggestions or requests (rare) revisions.

And when answering “Who did the website?”

Wednesday White. She rocks. The graphics came from Greg Holkan, who is amazing. Eric… um… showed up.

There’s more in the same vein, both self-deprecating toward himself and throwing compliments galore in the general direction of his creative partner, web designer, and anyone else who might contribute to the success of the project in any way. I think that’s pretty cool, and there probably isn’t enough of that kind of attitude in the world.

So, all that said – when I’m working on Alleged Enterprises’ second, third, or umpteenth game? Many, many thanks to the several people who make it fun to work on these silly things – artists, web designers, people who know how to use PageMaker or Publisher much better than I ever will, and the poor unfortunate souls who have to playtest version 0.1a over and over again before we get around to making their suggested changes.

So I was able to catch some of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show on VH1 this weekend. Mostly the bits with Bono and the Boys. I have to admit that after The Joshua Tree I stopped paying attention to U2. The albums had a little too much glam and not enough of the stripped down angst-driven sound I had come to love.

But a funny thing happened on the way to commercialization with U2. They stayed together. They stayed focused. They kept making the music they wanted to and not what would sell the most. And after two decades of turning out albums and tours that almost always please the ear and sometimes the soul they are still the most cohesive four guys I have seen on stage together.

I suppose if I were a little older I could compare them to the Rolling Stones or perhaps Aerosmith. But both the Stones and Steven Tyler*s band of hard-living geriatrics have suffered the vagaries of the life lived in excess. They now appear as caricatures of themselves. Frail and fragile shadows of former power.

Certainly U2 are 20 years older than when they released Boy but rather than withering away, the band looks more powerful. They all have a little more character in their face, perhaps a little more bulk on their frames and a generations worth of experience playing some really solid rock and roll.

Bono*s voice is still one of the best in the business and he never seems to have a bad night on stage. The Edge is only getting better with age and is one of a handful of guitarists that most people can recognize from just a lick or two (Carlos Santana, B.B. King, The Edge. Wouldn*t you know them anywhere?). And while Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen can get overlooked sometimes, rare is the U2 song that doesn*t feature a tight rolling rythm section that lifts up those guitar licks and vocals.

U2 has managed to transcend genre and become their own industry. The lived through big haired 80s metal, 90s flannel grunge, and the explosion of hip hop. And through it all they just keep pressing on. Making music that can reach everyone and spending their ridiculous fortunes in causes that show they understand the responsibility that comes with fame and fortune.

I*m sure I won*t like every album they put out. But I*ll always stop to listen.

So thanks to the magic of classmates.com I recently got an email from someone I dated in High School. It was really wonderful to hear from her and find out that she is alive and well and making her way in the world with a lot of success.

Its funny, I always lamented the fact that some of the best people I*ve known over the years have drifted away from me. I know its my fault because I am really not good at reaching out to people who I don*t deal with every day but it is always a humbling experience for me when someone reaches out across a 5 or 10 year gap in communication and says “found your name online, hope you are doing well, drop a line sometime”. Seriously, what have I done to deserve that kind of place in someone*s memory? I don*t know, but I*m thrilled every time it happens and hopefully I can do a better job this time around of keeping in touch with some of the most amazing people I*ve met in my life.

Software manufacturers have a dilema. How to distribut that hot new killer app to an unaware public without seeming like you are a villanous corporation trying to take over my PC. So far, noone has solved this.

Microsoft distributed Internet Explorer for free and damn near got smashed by the feds for doing it. Gator, Kazaa and a host of others try to slip in "useful" programs along with thier products, but those are pretty easily dismissed as simply crappy ideas. And Apple has begun to install iTunes with its free QuickTime player.

Well, every so often someone actually cons me into trying their product through one of these channels and it actually works out. Such is the case with iTunes. I spent about a week last year ripping my whole CD collection to my hard drive where it has sat blissfully unused for the last six months. Last night, I had to re-load QuickTime to watch some things online and with it came the iTunes download.

Naturally my first reaction was offense that Apple would presume that I required a replacement for Windows Media Player and shove it down my throat. But I had a moment of weakness and decided to give iTunes a try. I*m glad I did.

The software scanned my hard drive and found all the MP3s (about 12 gigs worth) in just a few minutes. Then I was presented with the slickest music management interface I*ve yet seen. Searching was easy, sorting was easy and best of all the random playlist function is just what I*ve been missing all along. Add to that the fact that I can change ID3 tags, rate songs and set the EQ and volume levels for each song and I am hooked.

The only down side to the whole experience is that after listening to an hour of my music selected randomly, I came to the conlusion that I bought a lot of crappy music when I was younger.

Very good article by Molly Wood on cnet about how Google could be the one to unhook us from our desktops permanently. She makes a rather compelling case that Google could position itself as the provider of network based computing that Microsoft has been contemplating. Ahh my friends, what would a truly modern thin-client look like? Well, something like an ultra light laptop with nothing but memory, BIOS, a shell of an operating system, good graphics hardware and every networking protocol under the sun. I imagine this thing to be about the size of a thick magazine (you know, the special double edition of Cosmo) have a battery life of over 10 hours (no harddrive to spin, no optical drive to power and less power to the processor since its not hogging as many cycles as the server is) and finally, the whole package will be under 2 pounds. That, my friend is my idea of bliss

Now, think about Gmail, which, in a broadband situation (I*ll deal with that in a couple of paragraphs), is probably more responsive than Outlook; and Google Maps, which doesn*t show any signs of redrawing as you drag the image all over your screen. That*s the power of Ajax, which removes most of the server communication, almost making you forget you*re using the Web. Now think about what would happen if you had a word processor, a spreadsheet app, a photo editor, an instant messenger, a browser, a music jukebox, and any other “software application” running inside a Web framework that*s as fast and responsive as any desktop you*ve ever used. Now imagine being able to access that environment from any Web-enabled computer (or device), anywhere. Remember Bill Gates saying, 10 years ago, that traditional software was dead and that all software would eventually be delivered over the Internet? Well, I think Google was listening.

You realize that whatever your virtues, you’re not exactly bringing about world peace or writing the great American novel here. You have a job that you like reasonably well, and there are moments when it’s exciting, almost inspiring to do what you do. Still, those moments are few and far between lately, and you’ve felt for a while that you need something else.

It’s always been fascinating to make something work, for some reason that you can’t put your finger on. Too, it’s always come pretty easily, seeing how things fit together and making them work a little better. Tweaking them, really. What doesn’t come as easily is creating the thing in the first place. So naturally, that’s what you want to do. The more difficult part always seems more important.

So you start with a blank page, or canvas, or mind, and stare at it for a while. Turn it around and start again, and finally begin, in one corner, tentatively. Close enough to the edge that you could call it a doodle if you wanted, tear it off and pretend it never happened.

And then something happens, something you hoped for but didn’t really expect. That corner grows a little bit, spreads out to become the center of something else. It’s not perfect, but it’s something new and after all, the tweaking was always the easy part, the unimportant part, so it can be done later. For now, you’re just playing with it, seeing where it takes you, wondering what it will look, feel, taste like when it’s done. Wondering if you’ll even know when it’s done.

Abruptly almost, you find that it’s done, and then you have to decide what it is. It’s neither what you had in mind when you started, nor when you were halfway done with it. Still, it’s different and it’s new, at least for you, and maybe it’s not time to decide what it is just yet after all.

I have learned a few things over the past couple of days. First, Percocet is freaking awesome. Second, there arenￜt enough Marlon Brando-related jokes to describe just how swollen my jaw is after having all of my wisdom teeth yanked out. And third, movies are the best thing when you have a ridiculous amount of time to kill. They break up the day nicely ￜ a couple of hours of entertainment between pain pills or the excitement of gargling with lukewarm salt water, something to take your mind off the fact that youￜre bored out of your head. Itￜs good stuff.

I got to thinking about the movies that I never get tired of, ones that make me pause every time I pass by them while flipping channels for some reason or another. They arenï¿œt always my FAVORITE movies, and most certainly arenï¿œt the BEST ones, but they have a consistent appeal that makes them perfect choices when Iï¿œm looking to kill time. Here are a few of them:

Rounders. A killer cast here, with Matt Damon sliding nicely into the role of protagonist. Ed Norton is his best friend / bad influence, John Malkovich as the best-named bad guy ever (seriously ￜ Teddy KGB? What could be cooler than that?), John Tuturro as Joey K(not silent)nish, and Martin Landau shining in a cameo role. Poker player turns law student turnsￜwell, poker player, this movie was responsible for bringing Texas Hold ￜEm into the spotlight to a degree that the professionals must still be baffled by. Itￜs also responsible for making every guy under the age of 45 think that given the right circumstances, he could totally make a living playing cards.

Crimson Tide. Again, itￜs all about the casting. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman as, respectively, the XO and Captain of a ballistic missile submarine that is in the midst of a possible nuclear launch. The music really adds to this one, with a taut score that draws you in without taking the attention away from the actorsￜ performances. George Dzundza, James Gandolfini and Viggo Mortensen did some great supporting work here as well. This one bumped The Hunt For Red October off the list by being smarter, more suspenseful and not including any of the Baldwin brothers in the cast.

The Big Kahuna. This one is actually one of my favorite movies of all time. Itￜs a film adaptation of Roger Reuffￜs play Hospitality Suite. Not much plot to speak of, as it all takes place in ￜ you guessed it ￜ a hospitality suite over the course of less than 24 hours. The plot, such as it is, surrounds a trio of marketing reps for an industrial lubricant company and their attempts to close the deal of a lifetime with a potential client they havenￜt met. Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli turn in three of the best performances Iￜve seenￜwell, ever. If youￜve ever traveled for business, youￜll recognize some truth here in the way Spaceyￜs character describes losing oneￜs identity while on the road, and the relationship between Spacey and DeVito is one of the best portrayals of male friendships I can think of.

High Fidelity. Adapted from the excellent book by Nick Hornby, this one takes us into the life of Rob Gordon (played by John Cusak), a struggling record shop owner whose life revolves around top 5 lists, obscure musical styles and his inability to make a relationship work with his girlfriend Laura. Interesting performances abound, with the hysterical Jack Black and Todd Louiso as Gordonￜs odd-couple like employees, Lisa Bonet reminding us that sheￜs pretty hot, and Tim Robbins as a conflict resolution specialist / upstairs neighbor from hell. Itￜs honest, quirky and cracks me up every time I see it. Worth watching just to see Jack Black singing ￜLet*s Get It Onￜ at the end.

The Princess Bride. Whatￜs this one about? Fencing. Revenge. True Love. Despair. And some of the best lines youￜll ever see in a movie, to boot. The exchange between Westley and Inigo, for instance: ￜYou seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.ￜ ￜYou seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.ￜ And, of course, the immortal, ￜHello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.ￜ Anyone whoￜs seen this movie and not believed just for a moment that they could be that cool themselves just doesnￜt have enough imagination in them.

There are more, of course, but this is a good start. Now, if you*ll excuse me, I can catch Crimson Tide for free on Comcast*s On Demand, and I haven*t seen that one in quite a while…

**edited to fix a glaring error in the High Fidelity description, pointed out by a helpful reader**