defocus·blog

NBC Takes the Gold in EPIC FAIL

For the Winter Olympics, NBC claims to have online viewing available, but the site is a pile of crap. And I can't get it to work at all. A giant step backward for television.

Winter of My Discontent

You know those blog entries that are like, “sorry I haven't had time to post lately?” This isn't one of those.

Pepsi Throwback Is Back

The good news is that Throwback is back, as of yesterday, 28 December 2009. The bad news is that it's not as good as last time.

Lightning: The Hidden Danger

Did you know that you're more likely to be struck by lightning than killed by a tornado or a hurricane? You're more likely to be struck by lightning than killed in an amusement park ride accident, or an accidental plane crash. Your child is more likely to be struck by lightning than abducted by a stranger.

Pepsi Throwback – Actual Information

NOTE: Pepsi Throwback was set to reappear on December 28, 2009. This post was written back in April, the first time it came out, and thus is not current. As of Dec. 29, the Throwback website is showing a blank page, and I have managed to find very little of it so far. New information going into my new post as I find it. When Pepsi Throwback first appeared in stores, I posted a quick blog entry professing my love for it. Then, much to my surprise, I began getting Google traffic from people looking for actual information about the...

Pepsi Throwback Arrives!

While grocery shopping this evening, I discovered that Pepsi Throwback has finally gone on sale! This is the stuff made with real sugar, rather than that awful high-fructose corn syrup. They only had it in cans, so I picked up a couple of 12-packs. I don't know if they're selling it any other way. It's like a little can of pure love. Unless you order the special Dr Pepper from Texas, we haven't had soda made with sugar in this country since the mid-1980s, and man, did I miss it. Nevermind the ongoing debate about how bad high-fructose corn syrup...

Another New iPhone App: Appliance Timer

When I started shooting film again, that meant I had to develop it, and that meant I needed a timer. Surely, I thought, there must be something suitable for my trusty iPod. But when I looked, nothing was right. There were a bunch of timers available, sure, but they were designed like computer programs, with convoluted ways of entering the time (tap “minutes” 5 times for 5 minutes, etc) and unattractive interfaces. Some of them have instructions. Instructions, for a timer? Why, I wondered, can't I have a timer that just works like the one on my microwave oven? So...

Imitation and Flattery

Well, it's happened – I have a cheap ripoff! As you may know, I have an iPhone application called ThisDay, which shows “today in history,” holidays, famous birthdays, etc. The database for this took a while to put together, what with editing for interestingness, verifying things, writing the actual entries, etc. Now, someone has released a cheap, half-assed copy with almost exactly the same name (“This Day,” with the space). It has “today in history” lists copied verbatim from Wikipedia! No effort whatsoever. Also, having gone through Wikipedia's lists, I can tell you that their accuracy is often questionable. This...

Life On Mars – R.I.P.

So, the ABC series Life On Mars is being canceled. I love this show. It was easily the best new show of the season. But, the folks at ABC decided that they hate having good shows, and they would rather be known for ridiculous nonsense like Dancing With The Stars. Yet another good show isn't given a chance past the first season, but idiotic crap like The Bachelor will, no doubt, live on. Now NBC is nuking their entire 10pm weekday lineup and sticking Jay Leno in there. They think I'm going to sit down at 10pm every night to...

ThisDay – New iPhone App!

I am pleased to announce that my long-awaited (by me, at any rate) iPhone app, ThisDay. This application will tell you everything you want to know about today: holidays, today in history, famous birthdays, moon phases, etc. Read all about it and, you know, buy a copy!