I’m in the middle of re-installing some minor updates to my new MacBook Pro and just got around to the screensavers today.
There’s a old matrix-scrolling-code screensaver called RedPill that the developer (very graciously) had updated for use on 10.6.
After installing the update, I went to OPTIONS…
Red Pill 01
…and noticed a setting on the very bottom right to “ENABLE SPOON”.
Red Pill 02
Clicking on ENABLE SPOON brought up this dialog…
Red Pill 03
And after clicking OK…
Red Pill 04
…there is no spoon.
Whoa.
Even though the Matrix came out 11 years ago, I still have this screensaver (or a variant of it) installed on most of my laptops. I figure it’s better than yelling at kids to get off my lawn.
I re-discovered this online single-player quiz game a few days ago. The game goes by pretty fast and it’s fun in a ADD-lite kind of way.
This is game episode #1. After this game is done, it will bounce you to their website where there are 99 other You Don’t Know Jack game episodes to play. It’s sad that it hasn’t been updated since 2008, but the 100 games are still a lot of fun.
Trivia: I was a beta tester for the You Don’t Know Jack games when they were originally being released on CD. Somewhere I have every single You Don’t Know Jack Game and every beta release variant…. probably buried in the Project 14 pile.
Last night my wife and I hit a few Hollywood Video stores that are going out of business and we picked up some Xbox games for 80% off and some good movies on DVD that were 5 for $10. Not too bad!
But what really got my attention were the movies I didn’t get. Even at $2 a piece I passed right by these gems.
First up was TRANSMORPHERS : FALL OF MAN
Transmorphers Front
Oh yeah. Not a ripoff of Transformers at all. Seriously! Nothing like it! This artwork and title won’t confuse anybody!
Transmorphers Back
The blurb in the upper left piles it on, too. “This prequel to the 2007 blockbuster, is a sci-fi action extravaganza in the tradition of INDEPENDENCE DAY and WAR OF THE WORLDS”
Even more amazing was THE TERMINATORS movie cover.
The Terminators Front
This kind of stuff is legal? Come on! By the same logic, I can get away with opening a Burger Kings if I wanted to, right? It’s not Burger King! It’s Burger Kings! With an s! I serve the flame-mesh Whapper! The flame-fresh Whopper? Never heard of it.
This next movie I’ve actually heard of, and for a brief second, I thought $2 was ok for this diamond in the very very very very rough. Then I realized I could get Moon or The Killer for the same $2 and I immediately came to my senses.
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus!! Just for the awesome… badness of it!
Finally, this movie made me laugh just for it’s title.
Ankle Biters
It’s a movie about vampire kids? And the tag is “don’t look down”? Awesomeness.
Seriously, though. These movies were green-lit, financed, produced, edited, released and made some money for somebody. So who am I to say anything? This is either an incredibly depressing fact or an awesomely inspiring fact depending on how you look at it.
Me? I’m gonna’ write a script! I’ll call it DIE HARDS! Yes!
Call me Hollywood.
As an extra special bonus, I’ve added trailers for some of the movies I found below.
So I was at the drive through getting a BK Mocha Joe (my Friday crack fix, thankyouverymuch), when I saw this billboard on the side of the drive-thru.
BK Texas Double Whopper
I usually don’t hit the Whoppers because I know they’re bad, but this one actually looked pretty good. Double beef, bacon, cheese, and jalapenos! I actually forgot about Whataburger for a brief second!
I don’t think my treadmill has a setting for DAMN.
Anyhow, I also found this commercial about the Texas double Whopper too. It made me laugh, but I still ain’t touching that sandwich with someone else’s 10 foot pole.
The latest CD I pulled from the 266 CD stash is Bill Cosby – Himself. The TL;DR version is that it’s still a funny CD, but the HBO/DVD special is far better.
Long version : This CD brings back a lot of memories for me. Bill Cosby was the first “adult” comedian I was able to listen to on my parent’s original LP collection late at night. Completely without their approval and knowledge, of course! Little did I know the Bill Cosby I was familiar with from the Fat Albert cartoon was not the same character who was recorded in the comedy circuit! I remember hearing “adult” topics from him was shocking the first time I played one of his concerts on vinyl. By today’s standards, though, he is very inoffensive, and yet far more genuine in his delivery than any other comedian in recent memory.
This CD is a compilation of the same show that aired on HBO waaaay back in the 80s. Having heard Cosby’s previous material on vinyl, I was definitely ready for the HBO special when it aired. Although this CD captures the main portions of the comedy show, it’s just not the same. There are dozens of minutiae you lose out on by not seeing his facial effects that accompany the delivery of the jokes and punchlines. There are also lead-ins and denouements in the HBO special that greatly enrich the jokes and bridge one segment into the next. Having seen the HBO special first, I know exactly what is missing in this CD.
Having said all that, it’s still a good slice of nostalgia for me. The jokes will probably fall short for the current generation, but for me, this was a very pleasant diversion down memory lane. I still laughed out loud at “The Dentist” and “Natural Childbirth” segments, while the rest of the CD had me smiling throughout the performance.
If you can, I recommend you see the Bill Cosby, Himself DVD first. Keep the CD for the iPhone/iPod.
If you have some time to kill, I highly recommend this free online game…
Super Mario Brothers Crossover
Super Mario Crossover lets you play the original Nintendo Super Mario Brothers game as either the original Mario character, MegaMan from MegaMan 1-X, Link from Zelda, Samus from Metroid, the Bill R. from Contra, or Belmont from Castlevania.
Each character still has their own individual game moves and acts just like they were transplanted into Mario’s world.
So I’m stuck babysitting a major server restore and I’m bored out of my ever lovin’ mind. With me is my laptop, a stack of old TV shows and movies, and Photoshop.
or 
for the same $2 and I immediately came to my senses.
DVD first. Keep the CD for the iPhone/iPod.
CD from Amazon.
