Happy Holidays!!!

Yeah yeah yeah...I know I haven't been posted anything for...ever, but it's only because I'm busy living and not typing about living.  More to come next year!!

 -WayDiddy

A movie known simply as...TRON...

Yes, it's an old preview.  But if you haven't seen it, check it out.  Not a fan of standard def?  Check out the official HD link here.



Looks hot, right?  I try to keep my expectations for sequels or remakes to movies low so my level of disappointment stays low as well.  I'm not trying to say these movies stink, but are usually heavily-marketed and advertised, with the stars making their regular appearances, making the expectation level rise until you finally get to see it.  I'll probably check this one out, depending on how the trailers progress and my interest level.  What do you think?

"Man, if they turned up looking like that in the United States..."

Harry Connick, Jr. pretty much summarized the whole thing with that quote.  It seems TV in Australia is much less concerned about racism.  This scene from a soon-to-be-canceled (hopefully) show called Hey Hey Hey It's Saturday aired yesterday (10/7/2009) and it brings back over 100 years of overt racism that I didn't think still aired publicly.  This is the kind of material that solidifies stereotypes internationally.  *sigh*  Looks like they'll still air anything for ratings and a "laugh".



SMH...

Screensavior!

Do you love the original Nintendo Entertainment System?

Do you love computers?

Do you hate staring at a bland boring cycle of photos, images, or colors that are designed to "save" your screen?

Fear not, I think I have found the solution to your problem.  It's called the UberNES ScreenSaver, courtesy of UberNES.  Here's a look at it in action:



The program allows you to display the "Demo Mode" of your favorite NES ROMs and tile them to fill up your idle workspace (like a dual-monitor set-up seen above) with old-school greatness.  You can even set up your own videos to play, highlighting great moments in videogaming history.

What is "Demo Mode"?  Think about that arcade you used to go to...that roar of digitalized grunts and colorful sprites.  You might have a sample of the gameplay running (X-Men the Arcade Game always comes to mind) or prologue of the fun.  Once you pop in a quarter or swipe the card at the local Dave & Buster's, everything stops and the game begins.  Now times that by 30 (60 if you're thinking dual-monitor)...never boring, alway changing, constantly awesome.  Best of all, if something grabs your attention at the time, it's no more than a few clicks away from playing!


Now the program itself breaks no rules, but you need to own a copy of the different ROMs to load into the program.  So unless you have a USB Cartridge reader and download your old collection onto your CPU, don't go scouring the internet for illegal copies of your favorite games.  I'm S.O.L. because I don't have any Nintendo games here with me, but if you do, do yourself a favor.  Download UberNES ScreenSaver here, give thanks to the development team here, and enjoy!

[via OhGizmo!]

*p.s. sorry about the crappy title

Get "fit" for a "bit"

Cool little device called "The FitBit" is shipping right now, and if you're a fan of tracking progess, this might be the new gadget of choice for you.

The FitBit is a fitness tracker of sorts that attachs to the top of your shirt and constantly monitors your activity, from how well you sleep to how hard you exercise.  All of the data is stored directly into the device until you come back into range of the base stations, which wirelessly retrieves and stores all the facts and figures like calorie consumption on total distance traveled.  The small clip itself has a maximum battery life of ten days, a built-in 3D motion sensor to capture all this info, as well as a slick OLED display.

I've seen the runners with their wristwatches, weightlifters with their journals, and golfers with their little books.  This little device looks promising for one big reason:  automatic stat tracking.  Often times you're able to estimate what you "put in" via calorie counting and meal tracking with a pad and paper.  Now, you're able to better estimate what you "put out".  All for about $99.  Not bad if you ask me.

[via GearLive]

Digitalism - Idealism (Preview)

I know I've been slipping lately with the musical updates.  I've been torn over whether I should be talking about classics or the newness.  Well...tomorrow, be prepared for another classic.  Y'all ain't ready for the new stuff yet...baby steps.

Gigantor!!

GIGANTOR!!  GIGANTOR!!  GIGAAAAAAAAAAAAATOOOOOOOOORR!!

In celebration of...an earthquake?...maybe I got that wrong...anyway, somebody thought it was a great idea to have Gigantor (to me at least...In japan he's known as "Tetsujin 28-go") blown up to life-size proportions and guard the Wakamatsu Park somewhere in Kobe, Japan.  Local shop owners were able to raise ¥135 million (close to 1.5 million dollars) via a non-profit organization intent on bringing more business and growth to the area.

I don't know if it's coincidence, but Mitsuteru Yokoyama, manga artist and creator of Tetsujin 28-Go, was born in Kobe, Japan.  Too bad he's not around to see one of his most treasured works brought to life.  I know we (The United States) have Lady Liberty, the symbol of freedom, guarding our shores.  Even so, the larger-than-life, bad-ass, rocket-propelled, "bigger than big" blue robot is pretty freakin' sweet!

[via Technabob]

Hardest Super Marios Bros. Levels of All Time

These are easily some of the toughest Super Marios Bros. levels you will ever see in your entire life.  Thank god they weren't this hard when I was a kid, otherwise I probably would have put a food through my SNES!!



Somebody modded the heck outta this second video.  It still looks tough, but it's more of a "look what I can do video", not a "aren't you glad you're not playing" approach like the last one.  It took me 30 seconds to notice that Mario's face is a bit off.  Also, he does this funny "Superman" pose when he does a normal jump.  Classic.



[via TechEBlog]

Dell's taking on the impossible

It's not an easy task to "future proof" any piece of technology in this day and age.  Dell's giving it a shot with their new Vostro line of desktop computers.  Spec wise, the new line offers plenty of customization options.  They'll ship Window 7 ready (due out soon, can't wait!) and have solid options in terms of internal PC components (Core i5 & i7 for the processor, ATI & Nvidia graphics card options, up to 1 TB of storage, and an impressive maximum of 16 GB RAM).  It will also have a 19-in-1 card reader, plenty (10+) USB ports, and older ports for older components (PS/2 & Serial Data ports)

I'm sure upgrading from the standard package price at $699 will up the price, but not to ridiculous levels.  You should be able to set together a decent package for well under the $1,000.

If you want to see what normally happens when you start adding upgraded components to an ordered PC, go to Apple's site here and put together the best Mac Pro you possibly can.  Dual-monitors, double quad-core processing power...go nuts.  I got nothing against Apple, but I always giggle when I pick all the premium options just to see what the final price is.  To get the best stuff, you got to pay the price!

But back to the Dell...I'm not a computer scientist by any means.  I'm not a computer whiz either.  I will say that I am relatively well-informed on the flow of computer technology, and there's one thing I've noticed:  nothing's future-proofed.  Just off the top of my head, I know there's new Intel core architecture around the bend, maybe due of Q4 2009 (sometime late this year) that'll be smaller, faster, more efficient (less heat), and at an aggressive price.  That's just one very non-specific example of how nothing's future-proofed nowadays.  There's plenty more.

Regardless, for someone with limited computer knowledge looking for a PC that's last more than a couple months, Dell has a solid choice for them.

[via Engadget] 

Ever been DWB'd? (Driving while BATMAN!!)

I'll show you the picture first, give you some facts later, then finish it off with the reaction. So, first things first:

 

Yes, it's real.  Yes, it runs.  Maybe, it's street legal (at least in Sweden where it resides).

"Cost: over $1 million...Time: 3.5 years, 20,000 hours of painstaking work to convert a ‘73 Lincoln Continental...Contents: DVD, voice recognition, height adjustment, reversing cameras...Pleasure: Incalculable, as people gather around to oggle outside IKEA."

That million bucks also went towards internal voice recognition software, rear view cameras, and an adjustable ride height system.  Don't believe me?  Check the video below:



Seeing this had me reliving the childhood dream of sideswipping some bad guys with a Bat-hook assisted power slide just like in Batman (the Michael Keaton one, pre-Christian Bale awesomeness).  Don't know how hard it is to turn in that bad boy, but if Stretch Hummer drivers can whip those things around, I'll manage.

[via Toxel via redferret]

I'm there!

Two words:  Denzel Washington

Couple more words:  The Book of Eli, out 1/15/2010

Justice - A Cross The Universe (Review)

Cross by Justice was easily one of the best debut albums I will hear during my lifetime.  No exaggeration.  It was one of those albums that just swept me right off my feet.  The first time I heard "Waters of Nazareth" drop...let's just say I'm happy no one else was in the car.  For me, '07 belonged to Justice.

After such a great album, expectations stay high.  It doesn't matter whether it's a remix here or there or an EP teaser for a new album.  That success is almost expected to be duplicated.  I'm sure you can think of more than a few albums that came across this way for you.

When I got this live set of Justice, I kept my expectations low so my disappointment would be low as well.  Like an idiot, I browsed through the 14 or so tracks, listening to the first couple seconds, fast-forwarding a bit, then skipping to the next song.  It sounded mediocre at best, so I put this CD in the "better luck next time" pile and just kept it moving.

I had a long drive to do (Northeast PA to Pittsburgh, roughly 5 hours), so I put in some CDs to ride out with.  I got a 6 disc changer in the car, and I burnt about 4 CDs, so I threw them in and pushed the other two to the back of the changer.  3 or so hours in, after skipping around from track-to-track on the first couple CDs, I told myself, "Wayman, you have music ADD, next CD that comes on, you can't skip a single song" (I said this in my head, I don't talk to myself).  This CD comes on...

This is probably the album that proved to me one quick scan through doesn't give you much at all.  From start to finish, I felt like I was a part of the crowd.  When the crowd roared, so did I.  When it got quiet, you got quiet.  You could almost feel the tension when the track was building, and when it dropped, you'd go nuts (i.e. end of "We Are Your Friends (Reprises)" is BANANAS!).  Instead of just yapping on and on about it, here's one of their big singles (care of Youtube) so you can see if the album does anything for you:

This live set definitely isn't quite as bright and as happy as D.A.N.C.E. or DVNO, but it hits a good balance between the two.  Stuff you can dance to, and songs that should be playing in a fight club.  As a matter of fact, the last track ("Final") sounds like it ties into a metal song (Iron Maiden maybe?).  Trust me, it blends together very well.  Do yourself a favor:  look it up on iTunes, buy it, and enjoy!

Rating : 4 out of 5 stars (just because I didn't catch how sweet it was the first time around!)

New album review coming soon.  Check back!

SFIV - MegaMan Style!!

I've looked at a whole bunch of stuff on the internet today, but this might've been the coolest thing I've seen all day:

A member of the Capcom forum who goes by Speedbrkr took my favorite fighting game and gave it a retro classic look.  Most gamers can't say they were any good at the Mega Man (or Rockman depending on where you live) franchise titles, but nearly every gamer can appreciate the style, big pixelated eyes and everything.  He even went as far as organizing the roster in proper order but with the classic "blue warp" stage select backdrop!

Much respect to Speedbrkr for gracing the net with his skills.  You can check out the original thread on the Shoryuken forums here.

[via Technabob]

I'll let you be the judge...

I'll let you be the judge...is it real?  PopSci.com did a scientific analysis and I guess it is possible...after 543,234 takes...

When polls go bad!

Yesterday, somebody made a new post on Facebook using one of the many Facebook Applications that supports posts, polls, and ratings of all things in all sizes.  You're probably familiar with these.  If the question is boring or insipid, you don't pay it much attention, and it eventually gets lost in the black hole that is Facebook.  If it's semi-inspired or somewhat interesting, you might vote on the poll yourself and take to a friend about it in passing.  Well, this poll got the US Secret Service's attention:

 

751 people actually voted on this post, which was quickly removed and service to the third-party application was halted for investigation.  It doesn't surprise me really.  The internet is a playground for those who love to post inflammatory material and have no accountability.  There is only one think I liked about this article:

"An ancillary poll has also popped up: "Should the person who created the 'Should Obama be Killed Poll' be arrested?"

You already know you vote on that poll!  Check the link below to TPM Livewire's take on the whole situation...


[via TPM Livewire]

This is like the apex of the vortex of PC case engineering!

Easily the coolest factory-built case I've ever seen.  It's called the Thermaltake Level 10, it's available in the US sometime in October, and it'll run you back $700!  Just so you know, $700 is the low-ball price for the components needed to design an entire computer tower.  My last tower cost me $60, so this is definitely a premium product here.

"Thermaltake certainly package the Level 10 well, with the case not only getting foam padding but a branded slip-case to prevent scuffs.  There’s also a design book explaining the company’s partnership with BMW Designworks."


Hmmm...considering the price of Bimmers nowadays, that price tag sounds about right.


[via SlashGear]

BMW M5's biggest upgrade is a...downgrade?

Looks like the 2011 BMW M5 will be getting a sweet new engine.  In this case, bigger is not better, and despite the speculation of their super-sedan continuing to house a twin-turbo V10 engine, looks like this isn't the case:

"...with CO2 concerns, fuel economy standards and the fact that the V10 isn't available in much of anything else in BMW's lineup, it seems like the next-gen M5 will probably find its motive power supplied by a V8 instead...With 555 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, it falls right in the ballpark with other supersedan outputs."

To me, it's still swag on wheels.  The .5, .6, point-whatever second difference in acceleration would only really matter if you're counting that stuff.  Moral of the story:  still bad-ass!

[via Autoblog]

Justice - A Cross The Universe (Preview)

Live set based on Justice's Cross album.  The review is coming soon!!

For the baller in all of us

Ever wish you could put out that fat wad of cash à la (insert rich celebrity here)?  Well, now it's your turn!!

Why would I just show off some stacks?  Because it's not what you think...

It's called The Loaded Wallet.  It's easier to get than a winning Cash 5 ticket, but you might sigh every time you reach for a Benjamin and only pull out Washingtons.  At least I would...

[via Toxel]

Boys Noize - Power (Review)

I'm not one of those people who has "runners".  You know, the sound that seems to always be in heavy rotation wherever you go, be it the iPod on the CD rack in the car.  When you're constantly on the hunt for new music, there's few tracks that really grab me for weeks on end.

Take this concept, apply it to an entire album, and that's how Boys Noize first album Oi Oi Oi came across for me.  It was like a personal soundtrack for months.  Turns out they featured one of the big singles on the GTA IV soundtrack, which added to its popularity.  Stealing cars, shooting cops, AND good tunes?  Overstimulation...

Anyways, this is the second album (excluding the various EPs, remixes and what not) from Boys Noize, and it doesn't disappoint if you're patient.  It lacks a bonafide club banger to start out the LP (Power's "Gax" vs. Oi Oi Oi's "& Down"?  No contest.), but once "Jeffer" rolls in, you'll start feeling déjà vu.

From there, high points include "Starter", "Nott", and "Sweet Light", high-energy tracks that are bound to be screwed, chopped, and remixed by all the hot producers out there.  Speaking of remixes, be on the look out for a Jeffer Remixes LP that should be dropping within a month or two.

If you're new to the genre and are looking for a reference-standard piece of electro, this is a great place to start.  I can't rate this one as high as Oi Oi Oi, but it's definitely worth more than a couple spins.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (Definitely above-average)

Check back for a new album review sometime soon.

Boys Noize - Power (Preview)

Review coming this evening.  I'll going to listen to it a couple times.  Check back later!!

First Post!

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to what may be your new favorite spot on the Internet!

My site is an ode to Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", except nowadays the future they dreamed about is commonplace.

Be ready to get an exclusive look at the hot items of today and the showstoppers of tomorrow.

Gadgets, geek stuff, music of all genres and the random craziness that is the world wide web.

Expect a new post every day on so. I'm new to the blogging game, so bear with me...Rome wasn't built in a day, right?