On The Web

Posted inOn The Web

Batman Gets Treated to Burger King

by Deck

Most of the blogs that I check regularly are topic-oriented: technology, games, or entertainment mostly. But there is one written by a guy called moreanonymous that’s very much a slice-of-life. He had an entry a few days ago titled “Batman Gets Treated to Burger King” that I really enjoyed, and I hope you will also…

He had been using his best behavior all morning. He ate his breakfast quietly at the table; usually he refuses to eat anything. He brushed his teeth and used the potty. Then put his pajamas into the hamper before changing into his Batman clothes. He started with jeans and then added a black turtleneck, followed by a cape and gloves. He needed help to get his mask on, but he asked very nicely. Then he spent the rest of the morning sitting at his desk drawing pictures of himself. He was being so damn precious that I decided to treat him to lunch at Burger King.

Too adorable!

Posted inHumorousness / On The Web

The Love-Child of IE and Firefox… What If?

by Deck

Someone did a fabulous job of imagining what the end-result of a Microsoft acquisition of the Mozilla FireFox browser, resulting in the Microsoft Firefox 2007 Professional Edition Website…

Microsoft Firefox 2007 Professional Edition

Better visit the site soon, because I have to wonder how long Microsoft will allow it to stick around. Here are a few choice quotes to illustrate my point…

A robust new Microsoft security architecture known as TakeOver™ helps to protect the Windows Kernel from malicious, damaging and viral software such as Symantec and McAfee products.

And…

At Microsoft, we strive to appear lovable, friendly and helpful…
…because our antitrust ruling conditions force us to do so…

And one more…

Tired of slow image rendering? Microsoft Firefox 2007 can deliver online pornography at blazing fiery speeds. By using a proprietary dynamic algorithm, anything that remotely resembles a tit or a boob will download up to 10 times faster!

Too funny! :-)

UPDATE (11/12/2006): Looks like the site has already been nuked, although www.msfirefox.net still works (sort of).

UPDATE (11/21/2006): And now it’s back…

Posted inOn The Web / Television

Smith: The Rest of the Story

by Deck

Remember when TV shows were given a chance to find an audience before they were yanked unceremoniously from the schedule? I think of classic shows that might never make it in today’s cut-throat world of broadcast television… Cheers, Seinfeld, and of course Star Trek all received low ratings early in their runs and almost certainly would be cancelled if they premiered and performed the same way now.

CBS featured a show called “Smith” in their fall lineup. It looked very promising with an interesting premise and some notable actors. The show features a group of professional thieves who are starting to have trouble separating their criminal lives from their otherwise relatively normal personal lives. The leader of the group is played by Ray Liotta. He’s looking to end his criminal career after a few more big scores. His wife, played by Virginia Madsen is becoming more and more suspicious of his frequent “work-related” absences. Each episode centered around a different heist.

Although I enjoyed the show and thought that it had lots of potential, “Smith” did not perform well and was the first show of the season to be cancelled after only three episodes.

Anyway, the point of this entry isn’t to whine about CBS’ decision to pull the show. It’s to applaud CBS what they have decided to do for the fans of the series regarding the remainder of the series. From the Smith Website…

Now you can catch all the episodes of this controversial and exciting drama series, including four that never aired on TV. You can also read how the story arc plays out, what happens to all the characters, and how the series concludes, with detailed synopses of the last five episodes.

I’m not happy that the series is over, but at least we get to know a little about what might have happened.

Posted inOn The Web / Technology

Hi, my name is Dave and I’m an infoholic

by Deck

“Hi Dave.”

For those of you who, like me, are addicted to a steady flow of information, there are a number of sites available to help us get our daily fix.

Tech News:

The following sites actually watch a number of the sites above and do a good job of aggregating all that news into digestable formats.

Aggregators:

Of course, this is but a few of the technology-related sites available right now, with more undoubtedly on the way. If you find a good tech site not listed here, please share by leaving a comment.

Posted inOn The Web / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 1)

by Deck

Red ZoneWelcome to week 1 of the Red Zone Wrap-Up!

As discussed previously, the Red Zone is the ESPN Fantasy Football League (FFL) that I’m in. Every Tuesday or so, I’m going to try to write a brief summary of the previous weekend’s action.

Jeff H’s Houston Inferno led all scorers this week with a 121-74 drubbing of Charlie G’s Peoria OrangeCrush. The Inferno got 31 points from Donovan McNabb (who I had last year but didn’t keep :|) on top of 20 or better points from both his kicker and defense. (I wouldn’t count on that happening every week, Jeff. ;-))

The closest game this week was decided by a single point, 95-94. Jack P’s Shelbyville Outkasts knocked off the P’burg PrairiePride managed by Bob P. Head coaching made the difference in this game. Jack’s head coach won his NFL game, while Bob’s lost. That meant a 2-point swing and a loss for the PrairiePride.

My Spooky Boogeymen came back from an early 30 point deficit against Mike N’s Batavia Bulldogs to win 91-80. My stud keeper from last season, Shaun Alexander had a slow start to the season (putting it kindly) for only 3 points. Luckily, Donte Stallworth took up the slack with a surprising 23 points. I’m hoping for continued success from Donte throughout the rest of the season…

Alan P’s Springfield Bullhawks took advantage of a low-scoring week from Elizabeth P’s Petersburg Powerpuff Girls to win 84-59. Unfortunately for the Powerpuffs, superstar wide receiver Steve Smith didn’t play last weekend due to injury and is still listed as questionable.

Bret D’s Kentucky Mad Max beat Ben D’s Foreign Bodies 72-53. A -3 point performance from starting quarterback Jake Plummer, didn’t help the Bodies’ cause.

So, after one week, the Inferno, Outkasts, Boogeymen, and Bullhawks all share a 1-0 record and a tie for the Norris Division lead. The Mad Max are the only Long Division team to earn a win last week for sole possession of that division’s lead.

Good luck to everyone next week (except for Alan of course ;-)).

Posted inOn The Web / Sports

Are you ready for some football?!?

by Deck

Spooky BoogeymenFinally!!!

Football season is here! Yay!! I’m flipping between the Cincy/KC and Seattle/Detroit games right now.

I didn’t realize that James Brown had left the Fox NFL pre-game show to move to the same position at CBS, but Joe Buck was named to replace him so I think it will all work out OK. (Now if we could just get Joe Theismann off ESPN’s new Monday Night Football, NFL TV coverage would be just about perfect.)

Anyway, the point of this blog entry isn’t specifically about the start of the NFL season. It’s about the kick-off of the FFL season! This my tenth year participating in ESPN’s online Fantasy Football League (FFL). For those of you who aren’t familiar with fantasy football, owners like me draft actual NFL players to play on our teams. The stats that each of those players earn equate to points for the FFL team. For example, quarterbacks earn 6 points for a touchdown, but also receive 1 point for every 10 yards passing. Head-to-head match-ups between FFL teams determine overall win-loss records, and the best teams make it to the play-offs. Games might be a blowout, or they might come down to one NFL player gaining one extra yard that puts his FFL team over the top. FFL certainly makes watching football on Sundays more interesting, because an otherwise boring game might feature players from your FFL team, or even your opponent’s.

My teams over the years have taken on a few different names, but for the past two seasons I’ve been managing the Spooky Boogeymen (helmet design pictured above) of the Red Zone keeper league. What makes it even more fun is that the other league teams are owned by friends and family. Good luck to all my opposing FFL owners/managers (except Alan ;-)).

Unfortunately in my decade of competition, I’ve never been FFL league champion. Two seasons ago, I made it to the championship game, but couldn’t quite win it. Last year, I started off pretty strong but faded badly when my franchise players were out because of injuries and suspension. Clearly, I’m due. :-D

I’ll keep you updated as the season’s progresses…

Posted inOn The Web

Hear ye! Hear ye!

by Deck

I bet you didn’t know how inspiring this blog was, didja? (Hey, quit laughing!) The existence of my blog has inspired my buddy Jeff to start his own, called Isn’t Life Strange?. I’ve helped Jeff with the technical stuff, but the content is all his and I can’t recommend it enough (despite the fact that he’s a Cubs fan – LOL! ;-)).

Anyway, the point of this entry isn’t Jeff’s blog, but his first podcast. This is truly a case where the student has surpassed the master. I’m listening to a “professional” podcast right now from the Barenaked Ladies (free, but iTunes required), and I gotta say that Jeff’s ranks right up there in production quality and content. Bravo!

Please, check it out and let him know what you think… Rock on, dude!

Posted inComics / On The Web

Seduction of the Innocent

by Deck

Seduction of the InnocentIf you’re a fan of comic books and unintentional sexual innuendo (and who isn’t?), I have just the place for you (virtually speaking)…

Superdickery.com is a site created by a comic book fan to showcase some of the more ridiculous, humorous, and/or offensive comic book covers, storylines, and superpowers that have appeared throughout the years. For example, the section titled Seduction of the Innocent collects a great number of comic images featuring some of the funniest unintentional sexual references ever commited to paper.

All I can say is that the golden age of comics must’ve been a much more innocent (and politically incorrect) time. Enjoy! ;-)