Pictures of Sheboygan, Wisconsin from Saturday, June 26th, 2010

 For more pictures click HERE

DD Download - Thieves and Villains

Thieves and Villains are an American indie rock band from the Hudson Valley region of New York who have one album out (2008's Movement) and are about to release another, South America, on August 3rd.

These guys remind me of a more over the top version of My Chemical Romance with the lyrical sensibility of Coheed and Cambria.  Their music is really fun to listen to!

Below is the first single from the new album called "Virginia Woolf."

Tips For Remembering Your Dreams

I had a dream last night about a terminally ill patient who was given the job of piloting a space craft into the galaxy all alone. It would be a suicide mission for anyone else but didn't matter to him because he was going to die anyway.  I actually woke up sad after experiencing this because it was very vivid but thought it was cool at the same time because I hardly ever remember dreams.

This got me curious so I Googled "tips for remembering your dreams" and this is what I found.

1)  Before going to bed, keep a clear mind. Having too many thoughts on your mind can distract you from remembering your dream in the morning. Tell yourself that "I will remember my dream when I wake up!

2)  Have a regular bedtime and wake up time.  Make this your routine.

3)  Avoid alcohol consumption, taking medication before going to bed or eating fatty foods too close to bedtime.

4)  Keep a pencil/notebook or voice recorder next to your bed so that it will be within reach as soon as you wake up. Then write down as many details of your dream as you can.

5)  Do not get out of bed immediately. Upon waking from a dream, lay still in your bed, keeping your eyes closed and moving as little as possible. Wake up slowly and stay relaxed. Hold on to the feelings you have and let your mind wander to the images of what you have just dreamt.

6)  Sometimes it may help to draw pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

7)  Learn to share your dreams and talk about them with others. The more often you acknowledge your dreams and bring them into "reality", the easier it will be to remember them.

8)  Don't get discouraged! At first, you may only remember a fragment of the dream. With practice and the more you work with your dream, the more easier it will be to recall you dreams.

Now go out there and dream people!!!

Click here to view the source for this material.

After it was announced a couple months ago,  I wrote a blog about the  "new" Hotmail, or should we say Windows Live Hotmail as it's now been re-branded.  (read)  Well, since that entry was published the updated service has launched and I've had a chance to try it out.

Here are my initial impressions.

Importing contacts from other webmail services

It's very easy.  After a few steps and just a couple of minutes everything was ported over from my Gmail account, and I literally mean everything.  At first I was a bit confused because when going through the contacts there were names there that didn't look familiar at all.  Then I realized it was grabbing addresses from messages that were in my inbox.  It's convenient and time consuming at the same time because if you don't want a certain contact you have to go through your address book and delete them but it does pick up the ones you've been meaning to save.

It also lets you import messages and calendar items.

Privacy Settings

Well, it looks like Microsoft has learned from Google and Facebook's recent privacy missteps.  When going through and entering your personal information, in each category it asks you who you want to have access to the data.  The choices are Just Me, Some Friends, Friends, My Friends And Their Friends, and Everyone (public.)

For my contact info I chose Friends.  But when it came to work and general info, I changed the settings to public.  And yes, I said "changed," meaning your settings are private by default!  Are you reading this Mark Zuckerberg?

Photo

This isn't technically just a "Hotmail" feature since you have access to photos from anywhere on Windows Live but using this feature in Hotmail is where it really shines.  There's this new thing called SkyDrive which is a file storage and sharing service which allows you to upload files to the computing cloud, then access them from a web browser.  No more attaching to the actual message itself.  Internet users have been able to do this for years using web albums such as Picasa and Flickr for photos or Dropbox or Google Docs for other files but it's never been so integrated into the e-mail service.

Oh, and one more thing.  Adding photos to the SkyDrive was the easiest thing EVER!  Just drag and drop from anywhere on your computer and they upload in seconds.

The only complaint that I have about Windows Live Hotmail is that once in while when I was trying to save something the service would go down but that may be just growing pains.  But coming from a company as big as Microsoft you wouldn't think that.  Perhaps it was my computer.

Part 2 of my review coming soon.

DD Download - The Ghost Inside

The Ghost Inside is a Metalcore / Melodic hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2006. As A Dying Dream, they released an EP, Now Or Never.

Not long after, they changed their name to The Ghost Inside, and released a full length studio album entitled Fury and The Fallen Ones.

Their long awaited sophomore release titled Returners came out on June 8th, 2010.

If you like screaming in your music, this is the band for you.  But for those who prefer it a little more melodic, they do that too.  The band's music is actually very addicting and party going on in the video below looks like a lot of fun.

You can learn more about The Ghost Inside and how to get their music at http://www.myspace.com/theghostinside

Fishville For Facebook

I am not a Facebook gamer.  There are plenty of people who are but don't count me as one of them.  Well Dave, you may be asking yourself, then why are you writing about a Facebook game?  Because there's tons of users out there and I consider myself a friend of all technology.  Even the kind I never use.

This may become a regular feature so keep coming back please.

Today we're talking about Fishville.  And, you guessed it, the game comes from the same folks who brought you Farmville, Zynga.

In the game you raise baby fish, feed them as they grow, and decorate your fish tanks with friends!

Like I said at the top, I'm not a gamer so probably won't be playing it so you'll have to try it for yourself.  Here's the link.

DD Download - Kingdom Of Sorrow

Hello and welcome to the first entry of what I'm calling the DD Download.  What we're going to be doing is highlighting an artist that isn't exactly popular but maybe on the rise and today it's Kingdom of Sorrow.

From - New Orleans, Louisiana

Around since - 2005

Members - Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down and Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed among others.

I'm not usually a fan of this particular genre of rock but I found the mellowness mixed with headbanging appealing.  If you want to chill and rock out at the same time this band is perfect for you.  Plus they've got some pretty kick-ass artwork.

The video below features a song called "Envision The Divide" which is off their just-released second album Behind The Blackest Tears.

You can find out more about this band plus how to get their music at http://www.myspace.com/kingdomofsorrow

Premature iPhone-ulation

I've freely admitted before that my blog titles suck and let's just say I'm staying true to posts of past with this one!

So, surprise, surprise, today a bunch of the new iphone 4's arrived two days earlier than expected.  Of course, you had to have gotten in that first day of pre-ordering for that to happen and I've scoured Youtube to find the people who did and got a pretty neat collection of un-boxing and hands-on videos for you here.

You can also check out Engadget's iPhone 4 review from Joshua Topolsky at this link

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/22/iphone-4-review/

And, the boingboing.net review here http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/22/apple-iphone-4-hands.html

No, Not THAT Zeppelin

What do you think this is?  I'll give you a second if you promise not to read ahead.

Okay, give up?

If you guessed a blimp, you're sort of right.  It's what they call a dirigible or an airship.  The big difference between this and the Goodyear blimp is, one gets "blown up" and the other is "rigid." meaning it's a built structure.

Remember the Hindenburg?

Unlike today's airships which use helium, vehicles such as the Hindenburg had the very flammable substance of Hydrogen to keep them afloat

Well, long story short, it turns out they're making them again, FOR THE MILITARY! No, you haven't gone back in time to World War I. This is legit.

The Northrop Grumman aerospace and defense technology company just won a contract from the U.S. government to provide three LEMV surveillance ships to The Army to assist troops in Afghanistan.  The vehicles, which can carry up to 2,500 pounds and hover 20,000 feet above sea-level will go into service sometime in 2011.

Source

ExtensionFM

I have two confessions to make.

#1, I'm stealing almost the entire concept for this blog from an article I just read.

#2, It's probably not a good idea to tell people to listen to music online when there's a perfectly good radio station probably playing their favorite song right now at 106.5 The buzz.

Ya know what?  People are going to get music wherever they can so I say who cares!

On that note, here we go.

I've found something called ExtensionFM and it's an add-on to your Google Chrome web browser. Don't have Chrome yet?  You may want to after reading this.  Click HERE to download it.

After you install the ExtensionFM add-on, any time you are on a page that has a link to a downloadable MP3 file, it will add a permanent link to that MP3 to its library, which looks a lot like iTunes. The ExtensionFM library is always accessible from Chrome!  Just click the icon in the upper-right corner of the browser, and you'll launch a tab with the library. You can then organize the MP3 links by source, artist, or album.

Don't know where to go for free mp3's?  There's a featured list of sites on the Extension's homepage.  Right now it includes Spinner, Pitchfork.com, Stereogum.com and Live Music Archive but this changes.

After visiting pages like these, ExtensionFM will continue to feed new links into the library with no further intervention from you.  Every time the sites are updated with more free MP3s, they'll appear in your library.

Thanks to Matt Rosoff at Cnet.com for the information!

Pod Storming

Yeah, the title is lame, I KNOW!  Naming these blogs is not my strong suit but you'll get why it's called Pod Storming in a second.  Just hang on!

I've been wanting to start doing a podcast for a while now but for the life of me I haven't been able to come up with a concept for one so this is what I'm writing about today.

It's a podcast theme brainstorming session.  Do you get the title now?

Yeah, still lame!

With any brainstorming there's bound to be crazy over the top and just plain supid ideas so here we go.

The Frogcast

During each episode we discuss frogs.  The different kinds, their behavior, habitats, etc.  There's over 5,000 separate species so there wouldn't be a lack of material.

Dave's Family

It's the world's only podcast where you'll hear nothing but news about my family.  What my sisters and brother are up to.  Mom's latest recipe.  Uncle Jim's favorite cat-hating joke and more!

Foods I Hate

This one is pretty self explanatory.  There aren't a lot of different food I like.  It's pretty much pizza, cheese burgers and pretzels for me.  That means plenty of new foods to discuss that I don't like.  Riveting huh?

Patent Pending Podcast

Another one that doesn't need much description.  We basically take a look at a handful of patents that are pending during each show.

Who's Feces Is It Anyway

Um.....Maybe not.

So there you have it, the best podcast ideas I've come up with.  If you can think of any better ones, please leave them in the comments section below and I'll make sure to credit you on each episode.

Thanks!

E3 Or Not To E3?

I really tried to avoid talking about E3, which for those who don't know is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry going on this week in California.

But, since I'm the self-anointed tech blogger for The Buzz it's kind of hard not to write SOMETHING up on the subject.  I was hesitant to say anything on the subject because I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to gaming.

This is what I've decided to do instead.  Post on here links to people and websites that actually know what they're talking about.

Here's what I do know concerning E3 this year.

The new XBox 360 was announced.

Microsoft's Kinect motion control system was unveiled.

And, that's about it.

That brings us back to my original point, I have no idea what I'm talking about so here's some helpful websites in case you are curious about what's happening at E3.

Just click on the logos.

And last but not least, you can always go to the official E3 website.  Here's the LINK.

Unexplained Wisconsin

If you're a regular reader of my blog you already know that my interests include science fiction, computers, technology, social media and stuff that's in and comes from space but did you also know I'm into the unexplained?  (monsters and stuff.)

One of my favorite TV shows growing up was In Search Of... narrated by the great Leonard Nimoy, which was a documentary series that tried to explain everything from ghosts to Big Foot, to U.F.O's and the Loch Ness Monster.

In the spirit of that show, I went looking for the unexplained in Wisconsin.  Well, not physically searching.  But a few minutes on Google yielded some pretty good findings.  Here's what I came up with.

(For this entry we're just going to concentrate on the monsters)

Big Foot

In 2002, Loretta I. Potter, and her son Peter R. Cupp, had a close encounter with a Bigfoot at their Maple Plain home near Cumberland, Wisconsin.  She described it as tall, perhaps 7-8 feet in height, with hairy legs and long hair on it's head.

More

Bigfoot hunter Dennis Murphy said he first encountered two Bigfoots about 30 years ago while searching for a fishing spot north of Danbury.  Then, On June 1, 2002 he had another sighting and snapped the below photo which purportedly shows a Bigfoot disappearing into the forest.

More

Lake Monsters

Here's a few from a very long list!

Lake Pewaukee - "A huge green thing traveling like a grey streak, sometimes seen spouting water." - 1890's

Rock Lake - "Sea-serpent type. Neck at least 3' long." 1882

Lake Monona - "20-30 foot long serpent with boat-like back." 1897

Apparently there were a lot of serpent sightings in Wisconsin back in the late 19th century!

Source

Werewolves

One of the first Wisconsin werewolf sightings occurred in 1936. A man named Mark Schackelman reportedly encountering a talking wolfman just east of Jefferson, Wisconsin on Highway 18. As he was driving along the road one evening, he spotted a figure digging in an old Indian mound. He looked closer and saw that the figure was a strange, hair-covered creature that stood erect and stood more than six feet tall. The face of the creature boasted a muzzle and features of both an ape and a dog. Its hands were oddly formed with a twisted thumb and three fully formed fingers. The beast gave off a putrid smell that was like “decaying meat”.

More



In 1972, a werewolf returned to Wisconsin. One night, a woman in rural Jefferson County called the police to report an attempted break in at her home. According to an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, she said that the intruder was a “large, unknown animal” that had come to the house and had tried to get in the door. The creature departed but returned again a few weeks later and injured one of her farm animals. The account stated that the creature had long, dark hair, stood about eight feet tall and walked upright like a man. Its arms were long and it had claws on each hand.

And last but not least is The Beast of Bray Road, which is known as Wisconsin's Werewolf.  Read all about it here.

There was actually a movie made based on the legend.  Check out the trailer below.

So, there they are, the unexplained "monsters" of Wisconsin and I only just scratched the surface.  Keep checking back for more.

In this blog I'm going to look into the future and try to predict what technology isn't going to be around in 10 years.  Keep in mind, this is pure speculation with no data to back up these claims.

CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs

You may be thinking to yourself, yeah, I can see the CD/DVD era coming to an end but the Blu-ray Dave?  Isn't that fairly new technology?  Well, actually they're already 10 years old and great strives are already being made in streaming of high definition content.  Services like Vudu and Netflix have begun to offer 1080p movies over the internet.  Plus connected TV's and set-top boxes will only grow that more.

Internal Combustion Engine

Okay, they probably won't be completely gone in 10 years but we are going to see a lot less of the traditional gas engines and more hybrid and full-on electric vehicles. Especially after experiencing the gulf oil spill and it's ecological consequences.  Oil will be seen as something we need to find a replacement for.

Physical Keyboard

We're already seeing it slowly disappear, with the iPad and other touch screen devices.  And with improved motional control we will see keyboard that appear anywhere your hands are.  Offices will be even quieter than they are now.

TV, Newspapers & Radio

Yes, I said it, my chosen field might be gone in 10 years.  The operative word being might.  It will more likely be the case of some kind of hybrid of online/over the air. I mean the number of online podcasting and streaming networks is growing all the time.  Just look at Revision3 or Leo Laporte's Twit network.  Eventually there will be a convergence of traditional and new media.  It's already happening.

Alright, I think that's enough for now.  Don't want to overwhelm you too much.

We'll have to pick this topic back up another time and revisit it for sure in 10 years, if we're all still around.

Sacrificed SciFi Shows

Have you ever had a TV show that you really, really liked but then all of a sudden, out of the blue the network cancels it?

Well, that's happened to me time and time again!  And you know why?  Because I'm a science fiction fan and for some reason it's not a very popular genre.

Anyway, this blog is all about some of my favorite shows that have ended way too early.

Here's the top 3.  Feel free to add your own in the comment section below.

Space: Above And Beyond - 1995, 96

A show set in the years 2063–2064 which focused on a group of United States Marine Corps Space Aviators. The "Wildcards" which they were known as, are based on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots to fight a race of aliens known as "Chigs."  It was very character-driven with numerous sub-plots which made the series deep and compelling.  I feel like there was so much more they could've done with the story lines.

Defying Gravity - 2009

A space travel series set in the year 2052 which follows eight astronauts on a six-year mission through the Solar System while their lives are being constantly recorded and broadcast back to Earth as part of an ongoing documentary. In spite of a libido-suppressing device worn by each crew member, romantic entanglements develop. Further complicating their lives is a mysterious storage pod which contains something referred to as Beta.

I knew this show was doomed from the start, pretty much because it was being aired on one of the major networks.  Let's see, has that ever worked?  Nope!  They actually released the complete first season/series on DVD with the rest of the un-aired episodes but I've been unable to watch them knowing that there could've been so much more!

Journeyman - 2007



This is kind of the odd man out on my list because it doesn't take place in space.

The plot centers around Dan Vasser, a San Francisco reporter who involuntarily travels through time.  He soon learns that each series of jumps follows the life of a person whose destiny he seems meant to change. Dan's jumping affects his family life and his job, and instills suspicion in his brother Jack, a police detective. While in the past, Dan reconnects with his ex-fiancée, Livia, whom he had believed was killed in a plane crash but is actually a time traveler like him.

It really reminded me of shows like Quantum Leap and Sliders, which wasn't a time travel but an alternate Earth travel program.  I'm a sucker for a series that shows what could've been or other possibilities and was really looking forward to seeing more of Dan's travels but that was not too be.

Like I said at the top, if you have suggestions for SciFi shows that ended too early, leave them in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading!

Eating My "Apple" Words

A few months ago I wrote a blog which was basically a bash against Apple for it's closed ecosystem and how Google's Android OS and their apps marketplace was so much more open to consumers and developers.  Pretty much it made it sound Like I'd never be getting a Steve Jobs branded product.

But...... after watching today's presentation introducing the new iPhone 4, I REALLY, REALLY WANT ONE!

Everything was fine, up until they announced the camera specs, and being an amateur photographer this was the hook, line and sinker.

Here are the stats.

5 megapixel.

Backside illuminated sensor.

5x digital zoom.

Led Flash.

Now, about that backside illuminated sensor.  You're probably wondering what the hell that is.  Well, according to Steve, it's a technology that has been used in higher end non-smartphone cameras for a while and allows more photons to get to the sensor, which improves the low-light sensitivity.

Another questions you may have is why they didn't go to a 8 MP camera.  Well, the higher you go on your megapixel count the smaller the pixels become and some how they've kept the same size while increasing to 5 mp.

The iPhone 4 also shoots 720p HD video at 25 frames per second.  In addition, there will be an iMovie app for $5 which will allow you to edit your video on the camera.  For radio station events that's going to be awesome!

Here are a couple of examples of pictures taken with the new camera and according to Apple they have not been retouched.

This is a sample video taken with the iPhone 4 and the remarkable part is it wasn't even shot in HD.

So there you have it.  If you're a fan of taking good pictures and don't want to carry a camera with you at all times, this might be the phone for you.

It's available starting June 24th.

My Summer Scifi Guide

Now that the "regular" television season has come to a close, a small crop of "summer" shows are about to start airing.  Okay, I'll stop with the quotations.

I'm sorry to say, there isn't a whole lot out there! Mainly a bunch of reality-based programs.  Even less of a choice if you're a sci fi fan like me.  Stargate Universe is ending for now but that just makes way for the long-awaited return of Warehouse 13.  What else is out there you may ask.  Well, here's a "filtered" list of programs picked by me.  Woops, there I go again with the quotations!  Sorry about that.

By the way, we're just sticking with Sci Fi themed shows here.  Well, that, Last Comic standing and Ghost Hunters Academy, which in mind are the only watchable reality shows.  That is, until they bring back Rock Star (?), Who Wants To Be A Superhero, American Inventor or On The Lot.

Alright, no more rambling and on with the list.

Ghost Hunters Academy (June 2nd on Syfy)

This paranormal reality series makes it's return tonight!  In case you don't know the premise, TAPS members Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango lead a group of prospective investigators on various ghost hunting cases.  And in this, the second season they're joined by TAPS founder Jason Hawes as the ultimate judge, voting a different contestant off the show every week.

Also premiering on July 14th is Ghost Hunters International

The Gates (June 20th on ABC)

Yuck!  I can't stand undead-based shows but like I said at the top, the pickings are pretty thin so any port in the storm right?

This show explores the supernatural elements that lurk behind the shadows of a gated communited aptly named "The Gates."  By the way, given ABC's history with Sci Fi over the last couple of years (Defying Gravity, Flashback, etc) I really don't blame them for going the easy, vampirish way out.

Warehouse 13 (July 6th on Syfy)

It'll be almost a full year since the show premiered and fans are more than ready for season 2!  This program, which has been Syfy's most successful series to date, follows U.S. Secret Service agents Myka and Peter Lattimer as they are reassigned to the government's secret Warehouse 13, which houses supernatural objects. They are tasked to retrieve missing objects and investigate reports of new ones.

Haven (July 9th on Syfy)

Based on Stephen King's novella The Colorado Kid, this series follows FBI agent Audrey Parker who arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine, to solve the murder of a local ex-con, only to discover that the place is a longtime refuge for people with supernatural powers, and holds a lot of secrets, including links to her own past.

So, that's it.  Quite the letdown aint it?

Things We Don't Use Anymore

Today I was thinking to myself, what are some things that we as a modern culture have stopped using in the last decade or so?

Here's a short list. 

And just in case it's been so long since you've seen these things that you forgot what they are, I've linked each with a Wikipedia article.

 

Paper Maps 

Payphones 

VCR 

Phonebook

(to me only good for raising up my computer monitor) 

Dial-Up Internet Service 

Film Cameras 

Landline Phone 

I'm sure there is a lot of technology I missed so if you can think of any more, please feel free to leave it in the comments section.