My Favorite YouTube Comment Ever!!!

Left Brain, Right Brain Magic Trick

The animation below is an optical illusion, made of 34 frames. Depending on the perception or frame of mind of the viewer, the dancer will spin either in anti-clockwise or clockwise direction.

Some people are also able to make her change direction at will. If you cannot do it, go here – before you loose your mind.

Here’s another one to try.

What I want you to do is, while sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

Now, while doing this, draw the number “6″ in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction and there’s nothing you can do about it!

The Common Sense Quiz

Over at flowgo.com is a pretty cool quiz. It only takes a few minutes and is really funny.  See how many you can get right. Of course I scored 100%

(Not So) High Speed Internet

Sometimes you don’t realize how good a service is until you have to get by with a substitute. 

At home I run Comcast High Speed Internet w/ Power Boost as a wireless network through my entire house.  I run my iMac, my XBOX 360, my PS3, my work laptop and Fernando’s laptop on it and have never had any speed issues.

At the Hampton Inn they have complimentary “high speed” internet in all their rooms. They give you a code that you have to punch into their home screen.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice that they have this free service, but it’s very slow. They should let you know that it’s probably DSL and not true broadband. After using Comcast’s blazing speeds for so long, the difference is obvious.

Although, when coupled with the free juice, the Hampton Inn’s internet isn’t that bad.

Free OJ

One of the few amenities at the Hampton Inn is the complimentary juice machine in the lobby.

I had 4 glasses this morning before leaving for work.  Sweet

Chrysler PT Cruiser

I’m currently on a business trip right outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw, GA. While here the bank is paying for me to have a rental car. They made a reservation w/ Avis for me. All I had to do was pick it up at the airport.

The folks at Avis asked me if I had a preference for what kind of car I wanted to rent. I was very tempted to rent a Cadillac STS or a Ford Mustang Coupe. I figure, what the fuck, the bank is paying for it, why not treat myself and have a little fun?

At the last second I chickened out and told them to just give me the cheapest one they had. I could just see myself getting stuck with a $400+ car rental bill.

I was expecting to get a piece of shit Aveo or Focus. Instead, I was pleasantly surpised with a PT Cruiser.

I’ve seen these on the road for years now and always thought they were kinda cool. They have a retro vibe to them. The inside is really nice and has a lot of nice touches.

The car drives fine, but I do have one HUGE complaint. It may not seem big, but I’m a little cheesed off.

Don’t tell the police, but I don’t wear a seatbelt. Never have and never will. The car will beep 5x every 5 seconds until the bloody seatbelt is buckled!!!! What I ended up doing is buckling it first, then sitting down on the belt and driving.

Pizza Hut’s Tuscani Pastas

Pizza Hut now offers two types of oven-baked pastas: Meaty Marinara and Creamy Chicken Alfredo. Both feature rotini pasta with sauce and cheese, and each comes with five breadsticks.

The TV commercial, in case you haven’t seen it, shows patrons at an upscale-looking restaurant, filmed by a hidden camera as they enjoy their pasta dinners. The chef then enters and asks if they are enjoying the meal. Of course everyone gushes over the food and he then tells them they’ve been sampling the new Tuscani Pastas from Pizza Hut. 

Tuscani Pastas are available for home delivery. The pastas come sealed in aluminum foil pans. I was questioned whether pasta could survive the delivery process still warm, but the aluminum pan was carefully insulated in a cardboard box and it was still quite warm. 

I ordered the Creamy Chicken Alfredo and was extremely skeptical about it being good. I expected to take a couple bites and then regret ordering and paying for it, but to my surprise it was actually really good! I thought it was flavorful and satisfying.

This is NOT cafeteria pasta. The Creamy Chicken Alfredo was rich, but not overly so, with decent-sized slices of chicken nestled in the thick sauce.

The size of the entree also surprised me.  The portion would be great for dinner for two, with leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

Pizza Hut is likely to do well with these new menu items. It’s a nice change of pace and may well bring them in some new, more family-oriented customers.

Bob Varley

I’m a regular listener to the DIS Unplugged podcast.  The podcast usually comes out on Tuesdays, but there hasn’t been a new show since 4/22.  I went over to the DIS website to find out what the delay was and discovered some horrible news.

Bob Varley, one of the podcast team, passed away on 4/28.  I was kind of surprised at how upset I got when I heard this.  I had never met the man, but I feel like I’ve lost a friend.  

Bob’s humor was one of my favorite things about the show.  He will definitely be missed.  I will never visit “Interventions” again without thinking about him and smiling.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Bob’s family and the rest of the Pod Squad.

GTA IV

It’s not very often that a game comes along that turned out to be pretty much exactly what I expected, and yet also managed to wow me practically every second.

Grand Theft Auto IV is a GTA game through and through, but its execution is so epic and fantastic that you can’t help but be in awe at the fact that it has come together as well as it has.

Rockstar has really outdone itself and has issued proof that it is not only the founding father of open world games, but also the undisputed king.

GTA IV manages to break every negative stigma from past games in the franchise while keeping the series’ core gameplay intact, albeit much more in-depth than ever before.

The new aiming and cover mechanics, while not perfect, do a fantastic job of completely changing the way combat works while keeping it at least as intense as we’d seen in past titles. Mission progression is paced incredibly well, and side things like managing relationships directly impact your game.

Liberty City is simultaneously the most realistic and immersive location we’ve seen in a game like this. The amount of detail that you’ll find here is astounding, not only visually but with regards to the things pedestrians and whatnot will do.

Watching someone yank out a newspaper and hold it over their head while running for cover when it begins to rain is just one example of the personality and small touches of realism that you’ll see everywhere.

But while the mechanics, side missions and other core gameplay elements are all fantastic, it’s the story and overall presentation that elevates GTA IV to heights very rarely seen in gaming. Rockstar has once again done an amazing job of walking the fine line between humor and seriousness with characters that you’re immediately able to connect to. They’re almost all bad people, to be sure, but each of them has character weaknesses and vulnerabilities that make them real.

Characters have reasons for doing what they do, and it’s apparent that they also have morals and inner demons as well. The cast plays perfectly into a fascinating story that is not only is easily the best of the franchise, but one of the best you’ll find in gaming anytime soon.

I could go on and on about why Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games I’ve ever seen and why even folks who are easily offended should play it, but that would be pointless. The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period.

Here’s the offical IGN review.