Why I’m watching this, I have no idea. But I can’t stop.
Category: Stupid
There Are Jerks…(Update: Arrest Made)
…and then there are real a**holes…
Burglars likely looking for money broke into and ransacked the Bend home of Tyler Eklund on Sunday as the father of the 14-year-old paralyzed snowboarder was heading back to his paralyzed son and wife at a Reno, Nev., hospital, a family friend who is housesitting confirmed Sunday night.
If you’ve been in a hole and don’t know who Eklund is, read up.
Update on 4/16 at nearly midnight: They arrested two teenagers and charged them with breaking into the house.
An Easter Scandal!
Cadbury is shrinking our Creme Eggs, and they’re denying it. But BJ Novak had the smoking egg, and he shared it on Conan:
Video via Lost Remote, thanks to Barney for the link.
Is Volvo Trying To Make Drivers Dumber?
Has anybody else seen the Volvo S80 commercials that tout their new fancy safety features? In reality, they are just making it easier for people to drive like morons.
I can’t find a link to these videos anywhere, but there are a couple commercials that strike me as off. One has a woman driving the Volvo with a pile of file folders on her passenger seat. Something causes a couple of the folders to come off the seat onto the floor. So instead of waiting until she’s stopped to get the folders off the floor, she continues driving and leans down to pick her folders. Her head is below her windshield so she obviously can’t see or isn’t even remotely watching the road in front of her. Thankfully the car is smarter than she is, and its collision detection system kicks it, makes an awful noise to warn her and gets the car ready to brake, saving her (and her files) just in time.
The second commercial shows a guy driving down a freeway. In the commercial, the guy nearly changes lanes right into the motorcycle in the lane next to him, something he could’ve avoided if a) he’d been paying attention to traffic as he’s going down the freeway), b) actually turned his head before changing lanes, like you’re supposed to do (everybody remembers that part of driver’s ed., right?) or c) he had his mirrors adjusted so blind spots weren’t as big of an issue. But he avoids the accident because of the “Blind Spot Information System” (which, for all I can tell, is a little red light on the mirror that lights up when you’re about to clobber somebody).
Now don’t get me wrong — these are all great safety features, and these are nice cars (I’d drive one if someone gave me one), but my worry is that this is going to teach drivers to rely on these features instead of just flat-out paying attention while they’re driving. They should be a supplement for a driver, not a replacement for common sense.
(Edited: Fixed a couple of stupid typos.)
I Better Quit Letting My Daughter Play With My Nintendo DS…
…because she could get molested. EVERYBODY PANIC!!11!!
I’m with Ken on this one: Parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives and quit blaming technology for all of society’s wrongs. And the boneheaded media who uses scare tactics to pummel fear into already paranoid parents need to be slapped as well and quit doing stories like this.
The story is about the Nintendo DS’s PictoChat program, which is a simple little way to send simple message between systems. But it has a range of about 70 feet in ideal conditions. If a child molester is within 70 feet of your child, your kid’s Nintendo DS should be the least of your worries.
The US Postal Service probably carries letters from molestors every day. But would we shut down the postal service? Not in a million years. Just because something can be used for nefarious deeds doesn’t mean it always is and if you live life in fear of this kind of stuff instead of just getting involved in your child’s life, than you are the problem, not a entertaining little game system. If you’re going to buy a toy for your kids of this type, do yourself a favor and read the instruction manual, and talk things over with your child. Earn their trust, otherwise that 70 feet will be closer than you think.
</rant>
Link via Digg which has a bunch of great comments, too.
Speaking of my Nintendo DS, however, I am having a fun time playing it. I don’t get to play with it much (my wife enjoys it as much as I do), but I’m slowly progressing along in Super Mario Brothers. I also plan on hacking into the thing sometime.
Is Russia Now Part Of New York State?
The RIAA is seeking $150,000 for each of the 11 million songs AllofMP3 allegedly pirated.
[…]
The companies behind the claim, which include the major record labels Arista Records LLC, Warner Bros. Records Inc., Capitol Records Inc. and UMG Recordings Inc., filed the suit in a New York federal court claiming that “…Mediaservices’ sites sell millions of songs by their artists without paying them ‘a dime’ for the right to do so.”
And quoting the AllofMP3 blog (which is a dirt cheap way to buy MP3s, if you haven’t already seen it):
An attempt by the major record labels to use a U.S. court to as part of its campaign against AllofMP3.com is imprudent.
AllofMP3 understands that several US record label companies filed a lawsuit against Mediaservices in New York. This suit is unjustified as AllofMP3.com does not operate in New York. Certainly the labels are free to file any suit they wish, despite knowing full well that AllofMP3.com operates legally in Russia.
In the mean time, AllofMP3.com plans to continue to operate legally and comply with all Russian laws.
The RIAA is just a bunch of greedy bastards who don’t give a rip about the artists (who already make just pennies on the price of CDs and digital sales). I really wish I could order some RIAA toilet paper and wipe my bum with those nitwits.
Some Locals Just Aren’t Too Bright
Bad: Losing control of your car.
Worse: You did it because you were drunk.
Just Plain Stupid: You were transporting your three two-foot tall marijuana plants.
No Homemade Meals For The Homeless
At least in Fairfax County, Va were you’ll now need a commercial license to give food to the needy.
FAIRFAX, Va. — From now on, feeding the homeless in Fairfax County will require more than just a big heart. You’ll also need a commercial-grade refrigerator, a three-compartment sink and county certification.
Officials said this week that a new campaign to enforce the county food code at shelters is aimed at preventing food poisoning among the homeless. But operators of shelters said forcing them to reject donations of sandwiches or casseroles prepared at home or in church kitchens is not in the best interest of their clients because it will make it harder to provide them with healthy, hot meals.
“We’re very aware that a number of homeless people eat out of Dumpsters, and Mom’s pot roast has got to be healthier than that,” said Jim Brigl, chief executive of Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services. “But that doesn’t meet the code.”
This reminds me of the rule at most school districts that you’re not allowed to bring homemade treats to class parties. That one really annoys the heck out of me, as my wife gets magazines with great fun treats for my daughter’s class parties (Halloween, etc…), but they’d have to be made in a commercial kitchen or bought from a store or they won’t let it in the door. This is even after my wife had to have a criminal background check so she could volunteer at the school. I can understand you wanting to be careful, but there are just some people you have to worry about less than others.
Worst Oregon Sports Injustice Ever
You know, I was pretty miffed back in the day when Joey Harrington and his Oregon Ducks were forced by the BCS to play in the Fiesta Bowl instead of the Rose Bowl, despite being ranked #2 in both the polls. But I think what the Oregon women’s soccer team just got smacked with is far worse.
After the Ducks’ emphatic 3-1 victory Sunday over USC – a team that ended the season fifth in the Pacific-10 Conference standings but received a tournament bid Monday – Oregon was so sure of its postseason chances that coaches cautioned the Ducks to take care of homework because they would be traveling Friday to a first-round NCAA Tournament game.
But the team’s tournament dreams came crashing down Monday when the brackets were announced and Oregon discovered that it hadn’t been picked, putting an abrupt end to the Ducks season and leaving Oregon coaches and players bewildered.
[…]
The team beat No. 24 Arizona 2-1 and No. 3 UCLA 2-1, winning eight out of 10 games to end the season.
It ended the season as the No. 17 team in the Soccer America rankings – the first time an Oregon team had ever been ranked.
There are 64 teams in that tournament, the Ducks were 2nd in the conference, and they didn’t get a bid.
Worst. Injustice. Ever.
Don’t Print Good Photography to Target
I mentioned before that Wal-Mart won’t print your digital photos if they think a professional took them. Now apparently Target is doing the same thing.