This is the effects of getting hit by someone while they’re talking on their cell phone.

“10 minutes unattended!”. #airportsecurity #OKC

- Posted using MobyPicture.com

This post isn’t political.  So cool your jets.

This post is, however, very sarcastic.  So fire up your engines. There’s likely a poop joke too.

[what does that even mean?]

Let me just say right off, that going to the movies is a total rip.  My wife and I can’t go to the movies without spending $30 or more.  Frankly, I’d rather blow 30 bones on (cr)Applebee’s.  It seems like a waste of money, even if the movie is epic and awesome and epic.  Right now, movie tix in the KC area run about $10 each.  [do your own math for 2 tix]

I can’t go to the movies without having a box of Junior Mints in one paw and a massive soda in the other.  That right there will run you another $10.  She can go without the pop, but not without the popcorn. With the fiasco and the boneheads at AIG, it doesn’t make sense that those morons, and with governing power knowledge, can in good conscience shell out million dollar bonuses, yet, I’m stuck spending money I don’t have on a movie that will undoubtedly suck the life out of me, leave me a little bit morally depraved, and sick at my stomach because I don’t know how to stop eating Junior Mints whilst washing it down with about 64 ounces of caffeinated asparatame soda. Bigger government will solve the economy problem? Ha! How about free Pepto Bismol shots at the concession counter? I’m tired of leaving every single movie with raging heat in my lower intestine that’s about to explode my britches [and any others within a 20 foot radius].

Sorry. That was grosser than anticipated. I’ve already typed it, so what’s the point in going back to edit? Besides, none of this idiotic post makes sense anyway.

The price of movies is going up, regardless of the crap economy that we’re in or out of at the moment.  CNN went to Washington, to seek out a bailout plan for movie buffs:

If you don’t know, they mashed it up with the AIG congressional hearing.

“Monterrey Weather Report!” All meteorologists here dress this way on the news. #gimmicry

- Posted using MobyPicture.com

After sitting through many awesome panels here at SXSW and screening some amazing films, my roommate (@chrismartintv) and I closed out Sunday night with the indie sensation “Four Boxes”. This was not a midnight screening, but actually ended at 11pm giving us an early night. After walking and decided whether or not we were going to do a midnight screening, we looked in the line and lo and behold, there stood Alex Albrecht, Dan Trachtenberg and Jeff Cannata. Yes, the hosts of The Totally Rad Show, one of my all time favorite internet TV shows.

Thinking quickly, Chris and I jumped into action asking the hard hitting questions that people need to know about TRS. We in no way, said anything like “Dude! Look! Its Jeff and Alex and Dan! You know, the TRS dudes! Holy crap, we gotta talk to them!” Nope we totally didn’t say that, nor did we go stand by them like little girls meeting Mickey Mouse at Disneyland for the first time.

We did bust out Chris’ Kodak Zi6 and ask one question and share some laughs. We left the theater shortly after, not walking to the car but hovering and even glowing a little.

SXSW is redunk. Meeting our heroes and giggling like fanboys at a Star Trek convention is beyond redunk.

This video can also be found on Chris Martin’s website, chrismartin.tv

For those that didn’t know, I’m currently at South by Southwest (SXSW) with my roomate Chris Martin (@chrismartintv). Its definitely a 12 on the scale of 1-10 of awesomeness. I’ve met  some great people thus far and  screened some great films.

…Also Kevin Rose fist-bumped me for wearing a Digg hoodie. Anyway, here is quik post done with the Flip Mino and the stupid-fast wireless speeds.

*I know I spelled “quik” wrong, that the point. I spelled quick, quicker by spelling it quik.

It’s that time again, time to make fun of people in pictures! Same thing applies: don’t be overly-harsh, but make it hilarious.

As always, there’s not a prize nor a winner, “contest” means nothing. It just rhymes.

The Hamdog

A hot dog wrapped in a beef patty that’s deep fried, covered with chili, cheese, onions, served on a hoagie bun topped with two fistfuls of fries and a fried egg.

(via texasburgerguy)

Seriously, a hot dog wrapped in a fried beef patty! The only thing that could make this better is some bacon, I’m sure we all agree on that.

There comes a time in a man’s life when he has to accept the fact that food tastes better than being thin feels. I, my friends have accepted that fact. Anyone care to join me on my quest for heart exploding good food?

@rexbarrett

This screensast was created by guest blogger @gabeanzelini.

@gabeanzelini explain how to use the amazing Yahoo Pipes to make your RSS feeds more targeted to the content your care about.  In this example, he shows how Mac users who enjoy reading the popular blog Lifehacker, can manuelly filter out all posts relating to Windows users. This example, of course, isn’t just limited to Lifehacker, but any RSS feed you subscribe to and want to filter.

Learn more about Yahoo Pipes.

Yahoo Pipes: Fine Tuning your RSS Feeds from Evan Calkins on Vimeo.

Starbucks New Instant Coffee - VIA

Today I took a most fortunate trip to my local Starbucks and was “secretly” given a sample of Starbucks new Instant Coffee called VIA. I’ve been waiting to try it ever since I heard the announcement via @starbucks on Twitter. Starbucks has been marketing this product as tasting  identical to their fresh brewed coffee in the store: I was skeptical to say the least.

Experience

The process was about as easy as one would hope. I opened the tiny pouch of “coffee dust” and emptied into a normal sized mug. The instant coffee powder actually smelled amazing.  I then filled a mug with 8 ounces of hot water and promptly stirred the concoction.

The ease of preparation is obviously a plus in any instant coffee situation, but this was quite nifty as I didn’t have to mess around with any extra containers or utensils to prepare my beverage.  I was also fortunate to have boiling water on tap at work, which cut out the boiling time.  Total preparation time was about 20 seconds.

The only thing some serious coffee goers may disapprove in this process is its quickness. I happen to enjoy grinding my own beans and pressing down the coffee press and pouring my coffee. For this reason, I give the experience a B+. For most people, they are looking for a no hassle, quick way to get a great cup of coffee. For them, the experience would no doubt deserve an A.

Experience Grade: B+

Taste

Even after reading many great reviews via Twitter (#VIA) I was still quite skeptical as I count myself a lover a good quality whole bean coffee, and I drink a lot of it: Preferably pressed or pouring through my portafilter at work. I really can’t say I’ve ever consumed any Instant Coffee other than the stuff I sneaked away when I was 9 during Sunday-school (explains some things).

I received the Italian Roast version of the VIA. They also are currently producing a Columbia, which I presume is a bit lighter in body. I was extremely impressed on my first sip. The coffee did taste fresh and at no point did it expel any fake stale flavors on my pallet. The aftertaste was quite tame, almost to tame for an Italian roast. The “edge” on the Italian Roast seemed to have been dumbed down a bit to accommodate an average pallet, but for good reason: This coffee is being marketed toward the average coffee drinker. As the coffee began to cool down, it didn’t seem to have any unique degradation with temperature change. The last sip still tastes good and normal and there was no weird residue at the bottom of my mug.

For the most part, the taste is what I would expect from an average roasted, normal quality cup of drip brewed coffee at any reputable coffeehouse, and much better than any other drip coffee you’d receive at a restaurant or fast food joint.

Taste Grade: A-

Starbucks VIA - In Hand

Value

Only after I tasted the coffee did I learn of price Starbucks is asking for these things. Currently, they are selling 3 packets (3 drinks) for $2.95 and 12 packets for $9.95, which averages out to around $1.00 a cup of coffee.

For me, this is where the deal ends. Given that I normally can purchase one pound of quality whole bean coffee for $10 which roughly produces 32 double shot americanos, I can almost consume 3 times the amount of quality coffee (If not better using different brewing methods) for the same price. So, Instead of paying $1.00 per cup of coffee, I am only spending 33 cents by purchasing whole beans and brewing my own.

This is only a deal assuming you don’t mind the time it takes to prepare your coffee. Some may find the 66 cent premium well worth it for being able to sleep in 5 minutes later.

Again, for me, The value is just not there. Bring the price down to 50 cents a cup, and I may be more interested in making VIA a semi regular part of my day.

Value Grade: D

Conclusion

All in all, I was impressed. I would definitely drink it again given the correct circumstances. (laziness, out of beans, in a hurry) I may even purchase a few to keep at my desk for emergency situations, or bring along to a restaurant with horrible coffee. If you are a regular drip coffee drinker who hates the hassle of purchasing whole beans and dealing with brewing equipment, VIA may be a great choice for you. For the experienced coffee drinker who enjoys the process of brewing and loves to experiment with exotic coffees and flavor profiles, you may not want to waste your money or time.

Overall Grade: B