Another good thing…

…about my new job: it’s 4 and everyone just left for the day.  I am outta here!

This is classic

Courtesy of The House that Rock Built, you have to listen to this Michigan radio host losing his cool after our amazing comeback last Saturday night.  This makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  If you’re able to listen to this and not laugh out loud, you have no soul.  The topper is when he declares his desire to hire H.R. Puff-n-Stuff as defensive coordinator with Teddy Ruxpin as assistant.  Holy crap.

UPDATE: This is just too good for anyone to miss.  I think I’ll probably throw it into a podcast tonight.  Haven’t done one of those in far too long.

Technorati Tags: notre dame, michigan state, football, college, meltdown, radio

News from La Seleccion

Spain coach Luis Aragones has decided not to include star striker Raul in upcoming games against Sweden and Argentina.  This is big news in Spain because he’s sort of a national hero.  It’d be kind of like leaving Lebron James off of a U.S. Olympic Basketball team.  It should be noted that Raul has been plagued by injuries of late, however his two goal performance in Champions League qualifying vs. Dinamo Kiev have not been a factor in the coach’s decision.  This month is the 10 year anniversary of Raul’s coming out party vs. the Czech Repubic in 1996.  Since then he has scored 44 goals in 102 games.  Pretty impressive.

It will be interesting to see how the Spanish respond to this news.

Technorati Tags: espana, spain, futbol, soccer, laseleccion, raul

Google Reader is official!

There is a brand new version on Google Reader out for all you RSS users out there.  Techcrunch likes it a lot, which is saying something.  Maybe I’ll try it out so I have an internet-based location for all of my feeds.  According to Techcrunch, Google has tried to expain the use of RSS in its simplest terms (they even released a video on how to use it).  So if you’re still wondering what RSS is and how to use it, maybe this is a good place to start.

I couldn’t live without it.

UPDATE: I just imported my feeds to check it out.  One major annoyance: it doesn’t allow for subfolders like Sage does, so my feed list isn’t organized like I want it to be.  GreatNews does the same thing.  Why can’t these things import the folder hierarchy as it is shown in the OPML file?  That is annoying.

UPDATE 2: I have about 550 feeds, and it’s really slow.  This may be due to it catching up the first time I load all those feeds into the reader, but it made Firefox crash.  Maybe it’s not quite ready for primetime, but the features are kind of cool.  It works like Gmail for feeds, which is sort of need.  Just not robust enough, it appears.

Technorati Tags: google, googlereader, techcrunch, rss, feeds

Bill screwed up again

Well, here’s some bad news.  The Xbox360’s new HD-DVD addon will NOT have an HDMI output.  This essentially means that 1080P will not be a possibility on the machine.  When will Microsoft learn that increased connectivity options will actually help sell their units?

For instance, why did you have to buy a special dongle for component and digital audio output on the original Xbox?  The answer is simple: so Microsoft and other 3rd parties could make huge margins on proprietary cables.  How did it work?  Well, in this case, I chose never to buy the cables just because I was pissed off about it.  So I didn’t receive the gaming experience that I could have, and wound up with a chip on my shoulder towards Microsoft (not that that isn’t uncommon).

Bill, options and choice are good things.

Technorati Tags: xbox360, hd, 1080p, hdmi, microsoft, gates, suck

For all my college friends…

Go here to find a map of America’s Drunkest Cities, replete with surrounding bars/pubs.

Talk opens up

Up to this point only Gmail users have been able to sign up for Google talk (something I never realized).  Well, now Google has opened it up for everyone.  Do people actually use Google talk?  If you use it, leave a comment and let me know what you like about it relative to AIM, Yahoo, and all the rest.  I’ve never used it personally.  In the late 90’s I started using AIM in high school and used it all through college.  Once I started work, everyone in my company used Yahoo, so I had to use that as well.  Now I use GAIM, so I can do it all from one place.  GAIM, by the way, is awesome.  Much better than the AIM client, and it’s portable!

Technorati Tags: google, googletalk, im, aim, yahooim, gaim

Eto’o Down!

According to Notas de fútbol, Samuel Eto’o, the Barcelona striker, has torn the meniscus in his right knee and the doctors say he’ll be out 5 months! Unfortunately, Lionel Messi is waiting in the wings to take over, and he’s not exactly chop liver.  However, let’s hope this bodes well for Real Madrid, who have recently changed their formation under new coach Fabio Capello.

Technorati Tags: futbol espanol, futbol, soccer, barcelona, realmadrid

Interesting Conference

I apologize for the lack of posting today, everyone, but I’ve been out of the office all morning at an M&A (that’s mergers and acquisitions for all you non-business minded folks) conference in Hershey.  They managed to cram about 7 presenters between the hours of 8 AM and 12:30 PM, so it was pretty hectic.  One presenter really stuck out, however.

She was a lawyer giving a presentation about how important it is for a buyer to acclimate the targets employees into the new structure.  She explained how many times employees of a purchased business often feel threatened by the incumbent employees and management (no crap, sherlock).  She offered one piece of advice when dealing with this delicate issue that I found particularly erudite.  She suggested that management take a survey to determine which benefits the employees found to be most important in the new company. 

She then finished her idea by saying, “…and just because they suggest something doesn’t mean you actually have to do it.  Your main goal is just to make the employees think that their opinion actually matters.  They’ll be happier that way.”

That, my friends, is neither exaggeration nor hyperbole.  The woman actually said this.  When she did, my collegue and I both burst into audible laughter as the rest of the room sat in horrified silence.  It was classic.

Technorati Tags: m&a, conference, sensitivity, cutthroat

It’s all about attitude

This guy and I seem to have a similar outlook on life.  Good stuff.

T.O.: DNR?

Evidently Terrell Owens tried to kill himself last night, this according to The Smoking Gun.  I’ll let you read for yourself:

SEPTEMBER 27–Controversial football star Terrell Owens attempted
suicide last night by taking an overdose of prescription pain pills,
according to a Dallas Police Department report. A copy of the report
can be found below. The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, 32, was depressed
and told cops that he was trying to harm himself, the report states. A
female companion of the athlete told officers that Owens last week
filled a prescription for 40 pain pills, but had only taken five of the
pills up to yesterday. Owens told police that he had taken the balance
of the pills last night. The woman, who has been identified as Kim
Etheredge, Owens’s publicist, also told responding officers (RO/S) that
she observed Owens (identified in the report as “comp,” or complainant)
put two pills in his mouth, which she tried to retrieve by placing her
fingers in his mouth. He was treated at Baylor University Medical
Center for a drug overdose. While the police document does not name
Owens, Dallas media reports (including one from WFAA-TV, which broke
the Owens story) have identified him as the “victim” referred to in the
report. Early this morning, ESPN reported that Owens had been taken to
a hospital emergency room after suffering an adverse reaction to
painkillers, which had been prescribed as a result of broken hand
suffered during a September 17 game against the Washington Redskins. (1
page)

Technorati Tags: to, nfl, suicide, owens, cowboys, dallascowboys

Forget about the Cubbies

In case you didn’t hear it, Shaun Alexander is out for the Seahawks with a broken foot.  In my mind, this is yet another example of the Madden Curse.  Thankfully Joystiq did a quick breakdown of the Curse’s history:

• 2000 - Barry Sanders abruptly retires before training camp (was he warned of the impending curse?)
• 2000 - Dorsey Levens is cut by Green Bay the following season
• 2001 - Eddie George enjoys career year, until costly turnover leads to Titan’s playoff exit
• 2002 - Daunte Culpepper leads team to dismal 4–7 record before season-ending knee injury
• 2003 - Marshall Faulk suffers ankle injury; career diminishes thereafter
• 2004 - Michael Vick fractures right fibula in preseason game, just one day after Madden is released; sidelined for season
• 2005 - Ray Lewis
  fails to post a single interception (after grabbing 6 the previous
  year), and injury forces him to miss the final game of the season; the
  Ravens also fail to make the playoffs after winning the division in the
  2003–2004 season
• 2006 - Donovan McNabb
  suffers sports hernia in first game and undergoes season-ending surgery
  in November; T.O. feud escalates; Eagles finish 6–10 after reaching
  Super Bowl in 2005–2006 season
• 2007 - Shaun Alexander fractures left foot in Week 3 …

Technorati Tags: joystiq, madden, curse, nfl

Bittorrent is taking over the internet…

Courtesy of Torrentfreak:

The popularity of BitTorrent is growing every day. BitTorrent sites
are on the rise, and now four of them hold positions in the top 500
most popular websites on the Internet. Even more are expected to join
the club in the near future.

Back in 2004, Suprnova managed to
settle itself among the 1000 most visited websites on the internet. So
when the site was taken offline december 19, 2004, there was a huge gap
to fill. Today, 6 bittorrent sites entered this top 1000 list,
generating more traffic than Suprnova ever did.

Sites in Alexa’s Top 1000 (rank September 26, 2006)

205 Mininova

218 Torrentspy

387 The Piratebay

439 Isohunt

573 Torrentz

593 Demonoid

Top 4

As you can see, there are now four BitTorrent sites in the top 500 of the most visited websites on the internet. Torrentspy and Mininova are currently 218 and 205. The Piratebay and Isohunt follow in 387 and 439 respectively.

Weather or not you use Google calendar, this is cool…

Google just announced that weather forecasts are now being included within its calendar application.  This is a great and logical addition that I’m surprised no one has thought of until now.

Do you use Google Calendar?  I use it a bit just because you can have several calendars in one slick interface and choose which ones you want to view.  If you don’t know, Google allows you to search public calendars and then view them in this way.  For instance, I have a calendar for both Irish football and Indians baseball that I can view at the same time.  I have a calendar for DVD releases and concert dates.  It’s pretty nice.

For day to day work stuff, I obviously use Outlook.  I have a PDA that syncs via Microsoft Exchange Server, so I’m always on top of things that way.  But for “non-work” related stuff like I mentioned above, I think Google Calendar is actually pretty handy.

Technorati Tags: google, googlecalendar, weather

HDTV is sick

Well, I made the plunge.  About three weeks ago I decided to finally jump onto the HDTV bandwagon.  I grabbed a 46″ Samsung DLP off of Amazon for a mere $1,199 with free shipping.  It’s amazing to me how much HDTV’s have come down in price over the past couple of years.

The wife was somewhat dismayed over the sheer size of this thing, but once she saw a football game on it, even she agreed that the picture is “pretty good”.  It’s actually better than pretty good.  It’s spectacular.  I figured it would be a shame to not watch this ND football season in HD.  Unfortunately, the TV was delivered one day before the infamous Michigan game.  My new TV was truly the only good part of that game.

I had to break down and get Comcast, which sucks because I hate freaking Comcast.  Yet another reason Comcat sucks (as I discovered) is that their HD box does not have HDMI output, only DVI.  That meant I had to go buy an adapter, which cost me another $30. 

I also have an upconverting DVD player with an HDMI output.  One nice thing about the TV I got was the fact that it has TWO HDMI inputs.  So I have the cable box in one and the DVD player in the other.  DVD’s look pretty good, although some are better than others.  I’m anxiously awaiting HD-DVD coming down in price.  Dances With Wolves looked especially nice, I must say.

So overall you could say I’m quite happy with my new setup.  I find myself watching anything and everything just because it was filmed in HD, including Wheel of Fortune.  It really shines in sports, which is most of what I watch on TV anyway.  I just wish I didn’t have to see Brent Musburger in high def.

Space talkin’

Yesterday the folks from Google received a call from Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space explorer.  Among the things she says is missing on the international space station: internet access.  You would think that if you were in outerspace you’d have better things to do than watch the strangest video I’ve ever seen on Youtube.  I don’t really know what it would cost to get broadband in space, but you can’t really put a price on smiley dancing Indian midgets.

UPDATE: I just discovered that Anousheh has a blog going that is one of the most popular blogs on the net right now.  How in the heck is she blogging with no net access?  Maybe she has a secretary here on earth to whom she’s dictating her posts.

Talk about good service…Feedburner to the rescue!

Evidently someone from Feedburner read my post about my feed problems earlier and then left me a note when I solved it and offered assistance with any future problems.  All this without me even asking Feedburner for help officially!  That’s pretty cool.  I salute you, kind sir!

I’ve heard some people bash Feedburner in the past, most notably Todd Cochrane from Geek News Central.  He contends that you should never entrust your feed with a third party.  Maybe he has a point if you’re an uber-geek and know all about managing and creating RSS feeds on your own, but for a guy like me, Feedburner is vital.  Think about it: I just completely changed blogging platforms and was able to seemlessly maintain the RSS feed I’ve always used so most subscribers wouldn’t even know the difference.  This is the equivalent of being able to change cell phone companies but still keep your same number.  By using Feedburner, I didn’t have to call a million people and let them know I changed my number, so to speak (even though I actually only have 14 subscribers as of the time of this post, you get the picture).  Hey, if it’s good enough for Mike Arrington, who now has over 100k subscribers, it’s good enough for me.

I’m so glad I started using Feedburner right from the time I started blogging last year, even though at the time I didn’t really know how it would be useful for me.  I think originally I just wanted to put a cool little RSS chicklet on my site.  How fortuitous that it ended up helping me out big time.

Analogy Time

Brady Quinn:Quarterback:Ty Willingham:Charlie Weis::Butter:Blog Author:Blogger:WordPress

Feed problem solved!

Well, here’s a relief: all I had to do was clear my browser’s cache and we’re all good.  The feed works, so enjoy!

Feed Problems

Ok, so I migrated everything over from Blogger to WordPress last night.  No problem!  Today I check my feed to make sure everything is working right, and low and behold it is not!  I changed the original site feed in my Feedburner account to the new WordPress feed, which should work like a charm.  But here’s the funny thing:

If I check the feed using the normal RSS 2.0 protocol in my feed reader (I use Sage with Firefox), it only brings up old stuff off of the Blogger account (along with my old site description, etc.).  However, if I click on either the My Yahoo or Google Reader buttons to add the feed, those show it as updated with the WordPress content.  Is that strange or what?

This means that if you read Butter’s Podcast only via the feed in an RSS reader other than Yahoo or Google, you don’t even know that I’ve moved the site yet, and consequently aren’t reading this post (for some reason my last post on Blogger isn’t showing up in the feed either).

I’ve tried everything I know how to do on Feedburner’s end.  I’ve pinged several times and resynched twice, but it’s not working.  This is really weird.  I’ll keep you posted.