I found it to be totally unpredictable and full of surprises, which is rare in my experience. It was also pretty thought-provoking. At the end, I wasn’t sure who the real enemy was.

It’s extremely violent and pretty gory at times, but if that doesn’t bother you I definitely recommend it. It’s available for streaming on Netflix.

Some of parts I found most interesting were about the evolution of our species and reasons some of the social adaptations were successful. It also includes an explanation for our natural cravings for food high in sugar and fat, which I found interesting. The overly positive reactions in our brain to sugar and fat are leftover adaptations from when these were very difficult to obtain (there were no grocery stores for cavemen apparently).

It also had interesting insights into psychology and several studies of the brain and behavior of young children. There were many less obvious things that were revealed which really got me thinking.

Overall, I found the book pretty interesting. It’s short and definitely worth reading if you have any interest in evolution, psychology, or religion. I’ll close with an interesting quote:

“Children have been described as ‘intuitive theists.’ Children show what is called promiscuous teleology, a basic preference to understand the world in terms of purpose. This contributes to what we now know about children’s belief. Children will spontaneously adopt the concept of God and a created world with no adult intervention. At heart we are all born creationists. Disbelief requires effort.” [1]

[1] Thomson, J. Anderson; Aukofer, Clare; Richard Dawkins (2011-06-01). Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith (Kindle Locations 766-769). Pitchstone Publishing. Kindle Edition.

What I like about Google+, at least in its current state, is its simplicity. It doesn’t have a bunch of noisy apps that I have to hide. It’s simply people talking to each other using words, which is how I think it should be on a social network.

I don’t know what to think about the circles yet, since I don’t have a lot of people on there yet to sort. I do like the fact that you can use it like Twitter by adding people to a circle to follow their public posts, or like Facebook where they also add you to make it a two-way connection. I also find the interface fun to use…

What I don’t like about Google+ is that there’s barely anyone I know on there yet, and a social network is less useful if you don’t know anyone. Hopefully that will change soon.

People are referring to Google+ as a Facebook replacement. However, that can only be true if the majority of your Facebook friends make the switch. Most mainstream users aren’t going to want to maintain two social profiles, and I just don’t see the majority of these users abandoning Facebook right away. I think a lot of the less technical users are perfectly content with Facebook, and will require much motivation to make the switch.

By the way, my profile can be found in the links on the right. Also, comment here if you want an invite!

This movie had a style that reminded me of many classic films such as E.T. and Stand By Me. It had a good mix of mystery, action, drama, and comedy and good pacing throughout. I never grew bored of any scene or felt that any part was dragging on. I also liked that it took place in the 70′s which seemed like a fun time.

The focus was on the main characters, so the alien monster thing actually wasn’t that interesting. There was also at least one scene where multiple lens flares took over the screen (how you know it’s a J.J. Abrams production). Other than that, Super 8 is an excellent film and I will probably see it again some time. I give it an arbitrary rating of 92/100.

Noty is the culmination of decades of scientific research and billions of dollars in funding. The greatest minds in the world have been working in secret since 1973 to come up with the breakthrough technologies behind the Noty device.

Noty stands for Notation Orifice Transitional Yacht. However, despite common misconception, Noty is not actually a boat. While it is incapable if floatation on water, it does have the ability to store information much like a sheet of paper which can be placed on a boat, hence the “yacht” in the name.

Noty takes advantage of the patented process of “making notes.” Many of the details of this process are highly classified, but the process involves quoting parts of text and/or supplementing text with original commentary relating to said text. The Noty device can facilitate this and more.

You can get your own piece of this space-age technology or see a live demo of it in action. That site says it costs $6 or something like that, but I have lots of functional prototypes I’ll give away. Just ask…

Disclaimer: The above statements are not guaranteed to be factual in nature.

Once you save a replay, you can view and edit scenes using the built-in editor. The editor is very simple and easy to use, and allows you to capture the action from any angle and save different takes of the same replay. Once you have a take, you can save it as a video or image sequence with several options for quality. This really simplifies the process for making simple TF2 videos without external programs.

The server-side implementation of replays is very unstable currently, with blocking and crashes, but hopefully that gets fixed soon. Setup requires a web server, which can be local or accessible via FTP, and there are example configs provided that make setup very easy.

Below is my incredible entry to the Saxxy Awards. Obviously there is not a chance this will not win…

Portal 2 picks up where Portal left off, preserving the same original concepts and attitude. This time, however, there are more portals, more physics, less portals, more flubber and other goos, and other new surprises. This game is longer and more story driven than the first.

The main attraction here is the puzzles, which at times require some creative thinking. If you have played Portal, you may find Portal 2 puzzles less challenging simply because you have practice. The good news is that there are some new mechanics added in to change things up, like the gels. Also worth noting is that there seems to be less emphasis on perfect portal placement in many puzzles, since valid portal surfaces are limited, and more emphasis on putting all the provided pieces together. Some good news for casual gamers is that there is also low reliance on quick reflexes.

The game also features a co-op mode, extending the game with puzzles requiring cooperation between two players to solve. This drastically increases replayability since you can get a new experience with a different partner. For example, you can find fun and creative new ways to kill your partner. This part is very well done, with gestures, signaling (such as a synchronized count-down), and voice chat. It also appears easily extendable, which might mean more content being added later.

Portal 2 is an amazing science-fiction comedy first-person puzzle action adventure game. The story is brilliant and absolutely hilarious, with lots of unexpected turns. Definitely recommended!

The Adjustment Bureau is a story about a mysterious group that oversees everyone’s fate, making subtle adjustments as needed to ensure things go as planned. A mistake is made, exposing the group to rebellious politician David Norris and causing him to attempt to defy fate by being with a woman he loves. It’s a constant struggle between the bureau and Norris. It’s a very unique film with an interesting concept. I rate it 89/100.

127 Hours is a true story about Aron Ralston, a rock climber who becomes literally trapped between a rock and a hard place via his arm. He’s stranded there for several days until he manages to amputate his own arm with a dull knife. The movie is almost entirely James Franco, stuck in one place, but he does a good job conveying his helplessness. I found the film slow at parts but it manages to stay interesting with some hallucinations. Be warned, the amputation scenes are fairly graphic. I rate it 107/127.

Snatch is several stories all intertwined in interesting and unexpected ways. It’s a comedic account of organized criminals doing various bad and crazy things in London. A large stolen diamond seems to play a part in all of these activities in some capacity. The film is very well crafted with a satisfying ending. I give it an A+.

The quality of the recordings is excellent, with a full sound and a good mix of everything. You can make out all the parts with clarity. I found the crowd noise excessive at parts, but the band is plenty loud.

Here’s a sample (you can hear the whole thing on Facebook):
2. Searching With My Good Eye Closed by Soundgarden

My only regret is not pre-ordering directly from SoundgardenWorld.com since that was the only way to get the bonus track and soundcheck CD. There was also a bonus DVD for buying the album at Best Buy, but that was just three songs from the 2010 Lollapalooza. I guess you have to choose which bonus you want or buy it twice? That’s dumb.

Update: I downloaded the bonus tracks via iTunes and it was worth it. They sound great!

This is one of my favorite YouTube subscriptions. Below is a selection of a few of my favorite videos on their channel. They are some of the more fierier and explodier videos.

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