Poems are not inventions

Why digg (still) rocks: small is big

2006-09-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Examining why digg is still great in light of the recent digg protests. If David were a blogger battling the Internet Goliath, then digg would be his sling.

read more | digg story

Trackmania Sunrise 1000 Car Replay

2006-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

1000 separate replays from the same track combined into one using Trackmania's powerful replay editor. The end result is 1000 cars racing at the same time.

read more | digg story

Photos That Lie

2006-08-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

Pretty interesting. A series of photos that have been known, or believed to be, doctored for the purpose of propaganda, bolstering public image, or othwerise.

read more | digg story

10 Reasons Why the Xbox 360 Has Already Won North America

2006-08-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

PS2 may have won the last round, but the Xbox 360 will come out on top in the next-gen battle.

Omar wrote a *very* in-depth article explaining why the Xbox 360 will beat the PS3 in the console market.

read more | digg story

Bob Barker freaks out: "Don't touch me!"

2006-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Skip ahead to 1:20. A recent contestant on the Price Is Right goes nuts after winning a car and Bob Barker uses another contestant as a body shield.

read more | digg story

Don't settle for Google AdSense

2006-08-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

We've published detailed statistics comparing their AdSense and Shopping.com ad revenue. Findings show that it may be in your best interest to explore other advertising alternatives for your website.

read more | digg story

ProductWiki + Shopping.com = Supercool!

2006-07-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

We've partnered with Shopping.com to display their price comparison information on our product pages. This is really exciting for us and will hopefully help bring ProductWiki into the homes of people everywhere.

read more | digg story

World Cup Fever

2006-06-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

I've officially caught World Cup fever this year. Rogers Cable in Canada is actually doing a pretty good job with the coverage, as we can watch every single game live in HD. Freakin' sweet...

Also, I've been using PBWiki to run an online pool. It's been pretty successful so far, but a little more work that perhaps I initially intended. Being somewhat of a computer geek, I'm running all the stats in MySQL and keeping up to date has proven to be really easy once the database was set up.

Chips Ahoy!

2006-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have recently found two types of chips that are battling it out head-to-head for snack supremacy.

SunChips Garden Salsa
Stop the presses! (or whatever the machines are called that create chips) Frito-Lay has created a chip that will mark the beginning of the end of all chips. THEY HAVE CREATED THE PERFECT CHIP!

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, while maybe this won't kill the industry, this is an awesome snack. It's got a great combination of flavours that keep you coming back for more. Sweet. Spicy. Salty. The three "S's" in perfect proportion.

NB: Despite my overabundance of enthusiasm, I am not, or never have been, an employee of Frito-Lay. Although, I would definitely consider any offers, winkwinknudgenudge.

Kettle Chips Spicy Thai
Jalapeno, ginger, white pepper, cilantro. What the heck were they thinking? Wait, I know: "How do we create the best chip in the history of time?"

Perhaps you are wondering how this is possible considering my recent review of SunChips Garden Salsa. It's similar to quantum reality. Schrodinger says: there can exist two number one chips in the Universe if they are sufficiently tasty, and they never are consumed in the same sitting. (Or something like that, I kind of nodded off during that lecture)

Give these chips a try. They will blow your mind.

---

Decide for yourself. Let me know what you like better.

Saving babies proves profitable

2006-05-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

The finale of ABC's American Inventor was on last night. I have to post about it because it was the inspiration to start this blog. The winner is (even though I've already given it away in the title):

The Safety Seat! It has a more markety name but I can't remember it right now. And since I'm pretty much the only person in the world to actually watch and care about this show, this sort of information is pretty difficult to find on the web.

I have a problem with this invention. They never proved that the design is a feasible way to save a baby's life. Basically, this seat allows for the baby to rotate within it's womb-like structure to help dissipate the energy of an auto collision. Who's going to argue with an invention that shows giggly a baby being safely rescued from a horrible crash?

If I claimed to have cured cancer. I guarantee that I would win this show. Does the cure actually work? It doesn't matter, give me a million and we'll find out.

Who did I think should win? Not that you asked, but I thought Word Ace was the best. It's a spelling game. What's a five-letter word starting with "L"? I'll give you a hint: it's LOSER.

I scoured the web, and, yet again, it has defeated me. I could not find a single picture of this bloody game. WORD ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are my dream, you are my nightmare. Here is what I concocted out of my madness:

© Erik Kalviainen because I drew it in Photoshop. This mockup is ready for production. Just put some electronic doohookies inside and a magic talking box to help score, and you're done. Did I mention that this image is copyright?

I love ET!

2006-05-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial was on CityTV this weekend as I was flipping through the channels. Perhaps, it's because of my age (DOB: 1978), but I cannot stress how much I love this movie. Every scene in this movie became instant classics. Think "EEE-TEE FONE HOME", "ELLEEEOTT", BMX bikes flying across the moon, Reese's pieces, drunk ET/Elliott, and dissecting frogs.

When I was a kid I was addicted to the ET video game for the Atari 2600. This is regarded as one of the worst video games ever made and was a huge commercial flop. I didn't care as I was oblivous to critics. Heck, I was like 5. All I was aware of was falling in wells, collecting bits and pieces, avoiding some random hunter, and calling the mothership. When I think back to the game, I realize that it was flawed, but my imaginative young mind filled these oversights, gaps, and glitches with creativity.

Tagged as : ET • atari • 80s

Cardboard isn't only for the homeless.

2006-04-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

I came across the itbed futon on productdose the other day, and I am completely in love. If you have ever had the burning desire to sleep in or on a cardboard box? If so, then this is the perfect product for you.

It is a collapsable futon bed made completely out of 7mm thick cardboard. Throw on a slim mattress and some linens and your are ready to go!

This product caters to those "casual" hobos; those not willing to give up their yuppie lifestyle, but desperately yearning for a life of freedom that only a life on the streets can bring. It's the perfect fusion of ikea and soup-kitchen.

Read more about this "futon" on tarabox.com.

Tagged as : cardboard • hobo • yuppie

2006-04-22T18:19:00.002-07:00

Silent Alarm by the Bloc Party has been sitting on my digital shelf (I pretty much only exclusively listen to mp3s, so there is no real shelf to speak of) for the last year or so. I instantly liked the obvious standout tracks (Like Eating Glass, Banquet) upon first listen, but, for some reason, wasn't intrigued enough to give it much more attention.

Now, come mid-April 2006 and I'm sick of my music collection yet again. There is only so much Sufjan Stevens, Grandaddy, and the Faint you can listen to, and that's where this album has come in. It has saved the day.

Simply danceable, upbeat, intelligent music.

Tagged as : Bloc Party • Silent Alarm • Music

Highway 69 and the CBC

2006-04-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

I drive the stretch of road between Waterloo, ON and Sudbury, ON quite regularly, and on this four-and-a-half hour drive I keep my radio regularly tuned to the CBC, and much of the drive takes place on the (in)famous Highway 69. You never really know what you're going to get from this truly Canadian radio station. You might be lucky enough to hear a program dedicated to the wonders of mustard, a documentary about pirated dvds, or a four hour program dedicated to fear and it's place in rock and roll.

This weekend I was treated to a program called A Propos in which Jim Corcoran features francophone artists. He first translates the lyrics into spoken-word english, then plays the song. Take a listen to Borderline by Katerine for a an example of what you might hear.

Filed as : CBC | Radio

I invented it for the children!

2006-04-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to say it. I am a sucker for American Inventor.

Last night, there was a special 2-hour episode of American Inventor (think American Idol for inventors) where they cut down the field to the final 12. Each of these 12 people will get $50,000 to pursue their inventions, and the winner will receive one .... million......... dollars! BWAH - HAH - HAH -HAH - HAH- HAH-HAH.

In reality, however, I don't really think any of the inventions are that good. To me, inventions are products that create simple and/or elegant solutions to common problems. Many of the inventions on the show are far too niche or simply not very good products.

One thing that you have to give credit to these people is their passion (pronounced PAH-SHUN). It's something that no one will ever let you forget. These people have sold all of their belongings, given up their marriages, lost jobs, and sold kidneys, all to follow their dreams to invent the portable pee suit. WHA??

Filed as : American Inventor | Reality TV

Build your own DVR : the Lifehacker guide

2006-04-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to step into the DVR market, but don't want to be a slave to TiVo, then you can build your own. Lifehacker has a pretty good guide how to setup your PC as a DVR. The guide is nicely laid out, and contains screenshots.

I've been seriously looking into a way to extend this sort of DVR setup to be compatible with digital set-top boxes and a Windows Media Center extender (Xbox 360). Imagine recording HDTV with your Xbox 360? So far my only snag is Rogers Cable here in Southern Ontario who won't upgrade my firmware so that I can record via the available firewire port. I think it's ridiculous that Rogers has the control over this piece of hardware that I purchased in full.

digg story

Filed as : DVR | DIY

FIFA Fridays

2006-04-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

This game has the ability to take over my life - I have played the last few generations of EA's FIFA series, and am completely in love with this game. I keep thinking that FIFA cannot be improved, but it has. I love the new commentary, and the improvements to the gameplay. You have to be a lot more careful with your passes than you had to in previous generations and this makes the game much more realistic.

The best is the four-player mode with 2-on-2 challenges that have created a FIFA Friday tradition in my house.

Filed as : FIFA | Soccer

Can't stop the rock!

2006-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was my first experience with the NLL (National Lacrosse League) as I watched the Toronto Rock play the Philadelphia Wings at the ACC in downtown Toronto in front of 18,400 fans. I went in skeptical and came out a fan. I could not believe the excitement of this sport and specifically this game. Toronto came back from a 14-8 deficit in the 4th quarter to win 15-14 in overtime.

The fans are amazing. The first thing that blew me away was the enthusiasm of the kids. As soon as the camera comes on them, their shirts are instantly ripped off and they are waving them around like mad. As a fan, you feel like you can really make a difference in the game.

I had such a great time at the game that afterwards my friends and I formed "Les Roches". Die-hard fans, without the violence. We have been converted over night. The only problem is that back in society the excitement faded as reality set in that Lacrosse is not popular, and, really, nobody cares. Les Roches are here to change that. We will be attending playoff games with tearaway shirts and possible temporary tattoos.

Filed as : The Rock | Lacrosse

I hope it's a PFLOP!

2006-04-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

We just released an update to ProductWiki last night that included a lot of design clean ups, as well as some new features. Now, as well as being able to retrieve PW content as RSS feeds, you can also publish them to your blog or website by embedding some HTML.

The parts for a pretty sweet, yet inexpensive, computer:

What's cool is that this will update in real time as I tag more stuff on the site. This feature is just in its infancy but we are hoping that it will catch and become popular amongst the blogging community. Heck, I think it's it pretty cool.

Filed as : productwiki | social shopping

The difference between 12 and 27

2006-04-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

I was out on a mountain bike ride yesterday, and there is this dirt course that some kids have set up behind the house. Huge jumps, banked corners, steep embankments, and pitfalls. I'm pretty amazed by the whole mountain biking/dirt jumping/BMX phenomenom, and I am impressed with what these kids have done.

The problem is that I'm 27 and I've realized that I don't know if I'll get the courage/stupidity to take my new bike off one of those huge ramps. I remember being 12 years old and jumping bikes off of anything I saw. I would make jumps and hit them full speed with no warm-up or practice. Something has changed in the last 15 years (duh), but I think I still might give it a go...

Filed as : mountain bikes | growing up