Monkeys+Brain Control+Robots= End of Humans (or awesome zoos)

This video shows what could be the beginning of the end of human civilization. Monkeys are now controlling robots...with just thier minds. Let the war on the primates begin.

These monkeys have probes the width of a human hair inserted into the section of the brain that controls movement. The monkeys are also immobilized so they cannot move their limbs. Then a scientist offers the monkey a little snack. Then the monkey, using only his brain, controls the robot arm to grab the food from the scientst and put it in his mouth (the monkey's mouth, not the scientist's).

These so-called scientists claim they are trying to understand more about the brain so as to treat or even cure brain disorders such as Parkinson's or even Alzheimer's or mental illness. I don't buy it. It looks to me that they are just trying to create a super army of MonkeyBots to take over the world. Know what I think when I ponder on the future of this experiment?

And, of course, let's not forget...those Damn Dirty Apes!!!

Last night at Midnight I was sitting in the Cinemark waiting for the next installment of Indiana Jones to start. We waited for two hours until midnight finally rolled around and the lights went down. As the previews played I felt a little excitement building inside me in anticipation for the next adventure of Dr. Jones. The Lucasfilm logo flashed onto the screen and it began. Two hours later I wished I had been in bed and asleep instead of in the theatre. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was good. There were a lot of things that stayed true to the Indiana Jones genre and there were some things that were a bit of a stretch even for an Indie movie (Shia LeBeouf swinging on vines through the jungle…really?). Since it is a period piece there were a few things that I thought were a bit hokey at first but when I thought about it, they really seemed to fit (think Roswell and the atom bomb). Harrison Ford is in his mid-sixties but still manages to slip back into his Indie character and still manages to leaves a trail of destruction as big as the other three movies. I wasn't blown away but I do recommend you see this movie.
Excuse me but I need to get something out of the way…

An Open letter to George Lucas:

Mr. Lucas,

First and foremost, thank you so much for the fantastic movies you have brought us over the years. Many of them have changed lives and, to some extent, changed the world. You contributions are legendary and we thank you for that.

Having said that: Please stop making movies.

You have lots of money. Ridiculous amounts. You have pretty much every movie making technology at your disposal and in your name. This does not mean you need to keep making movies. I thought that became very apparent with the Star Wars prequels. People saw them because they said Star Wars but left the theatres wondering what just happened. You and Spielberg made a great team. Made. As in past tense. Please leave the movie making to the new guys. They have wonderful new ideas of what movies should be. New ideas. And they all seem to use ILM and Skywalker Sound; your studios, so it’s like you’re helping anyways. Let’s let that be your new legend. ‘Cause let’s be real, this Indiana Jones movies fell the same way the new Star Wars movies did: pretty good but just not the same.

Thank you, Mr. Lucas, for all you’ve done but please stop.

Sincerely,

Mike Harris

She's Cookin'

Here's a cute video of Brookie. I think we can all guess who she's going to vote for on American Idol.

your iPod will kill you someday

Hopefully you all remember when I told you about the Eagle Ray leaping out of the water and striking a woman on a boat in the face, killing her instantly.

That’s nothing…Listen to this.

This happened on Tuesday in British Columbia, Canada and is absolutely ridiculous (and not just because it happened in Canadia). 23 year-old, Isaiah Otieno, was on his way to his mailbox, rocking out to his iPod when a crashing helicopter came out of nowhere. The helicopter struck Otieno and dragged him for an undisclosed distance. Otieno did not survive.

I thought the Eagle Ray was pretty bad but this is a helicopter in a rural area that hit a kid walking to a mailbox. A HELICOPTER!! Now comes the controversial arguments of “Was it the iPod’s fault that he didn’t hear the helicopter coming?” There have already been attempts to ban iPods while crossing the street in New York and elsewhere. No doubt this will bring up the issue again. Crossing the street in New York is one thing. People probably get hit by cars every minute in New York. It’s like a rite of passage there. But really, how often do helicopters fall from the sky and hit unsuspecting iPodders? I like my iPod but I’m not attached to it like some people. I know people who treat their iPod like an extra appendage and would not be able to function without it. It’s sad really. If you wanna go deaf, that’s your call. Crank up the volume and enjoy your hearing as it slowly slips away. But just beware of cars while crossing the street and fiery helicopters falling from the sky that will kill you.

via gizmodo

my retro binge

For those of you that don't know I was recently accepted in the Graphic Information Technology program at ASU. The degree is offered at the Polytechnic campus (ASU East) and we are applying for family housing on the campus. The campus is the old Williams Air Force Base so the houses are old Air Force houses. These houses scream retro so during my daily perusal of Craig's List I hit retro gold. I would put every single one of these in that house and it would be magnificent. Here some of the gems that I found:

Best. Couch. Ever.

Retro-tastic!


My sister almost cried when she found out these were sold!

I would turn this into the best cabinet you've ever seen!!



Every dinner would taste better on this table. I'm sure of it.

What better way to store your books than on an old school library cart.

strictly for my ninjas

A good friend of mine, and the singer for our band, Jared Nielson, made this video a while back for an Institute Film Festival. It's done in the style of Ask A Ninja. It won him first place and some gift cards to Cheesecake Factory (a gift that keeps on giving in insanely over sized portions). Seeing how I still think this is funny, I thought I'd share it with the handful of people that actually read this blog.

Keeping with the theme, for more cool ninja action, check out the progressive online comic book, Dr. McNinja. I stumbled upon it not long ago and have been a fan since.

Mermaids and cloaking devices

I was called at the begining of the year as the Valiant 8 teacher, the kids that are turning 8 this year. I told them at our first class that if they would bring their scriptures to church they would get a point and when they get to 50 points we would have a class party. Such were the events that brought on the pool party I held for them this last Friday. Little did I remember the days of being an 8 year old. Everything was normal and to be expected when the first two girls arived, but then the boys came. Only two of them but the dynamics between an 8 year old boy and girl is a completely different world from the one we live in. I tried playing with them for a while, but I didn't know when to take them seriously or if we were still pretending. I quietly stepped out of their world to watch in amazment as a twisted and complex storyline of mermaids, humans, androids and cloaking devices ensued before my very eyes. Luckily no one was really hurt and everyone "got along." It's pretty entertaining watching my primary kids, but when it all comes down to it, I'm glad I get to give them back to their parents.

cute personified

You can make any picture look like this. Go HERE and upload your photo to have it aged and made all cool-vintage-like!

via How About Orange

Iron Man is Gadgetastic!!

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Iron Man was released in theaters at 8 PM on Thursday instead of midnight Friday like everyone else though. Kristi and I took advantage of this and went on a date to the movies. To start there is a killer trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie. If you are not excited about this upcoming awesomeness please leave this blog immediately. There was a great new trailer for The Dark Knight that hints at just how dark the feel of the movie is going to be. The new Narnia movie made an appearance as well as new flicks from Adam Sandler and Mike Myers.

The movie starts and doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff. Robert Downey, Jr.’s character, Tony Stark, seems all too perfect for him (much like Hugh Jackman and Wolverine). He doesn’t try for laughs, his personality just draws them. There is a lot of humor in this movie which really surprised me. There is a thin line you walk between awesome and cheesy when you try to make an action movie funny. From where I sat, it never strayed into cheesy. Not once.

There’s gunfire, explosions, hostile situations, flying, back-stabbing and lots and lots of action. This movie simply has it all. If you’re a comic book fan and have enjoyed the Marvel and DC movies up to this point, buckle up. This one, in my opinion, is right there with Batman Begins and passes up all three Spider-man and X-Men movies. If you’re a gadget and technology nerd, like I am, you’re likely to slip into a techno-coma with all the sweet gadgetry, robots and AI that Tony Stark has. The man builds a freaking exo-suit in a cave in the middle east while being held captive! The suit progresses from there. Becoming more streamlined, more powerful and, let’s face it, more aesthetically pleasing.

Jon Favreau is slowly becoming one of my favorite movie makers, especially if he keeps making gems like this one. With Films like Zathura and the ever-awesome Elf, he’s becoming a force to be reckoned with in the movie industry.

Iron Man is beautifully executed with great special effects. This is an absolutely must-see for anyone claiming to be a comic book fan and, truthfully, anyone who loves a great movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 MRU’s (Movie Rating Units) (yes, I made those up)

p.s There's a coda at the end of the credits, so you may want to stick around a bit longer.

overheard conversation

White girl: “What’s up, Rob?”
Thug-like Hispanic guy, Rob: “Just standing out for the West Side. Know what I’m sayin’, cuz?”
White girl: “No. I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Thug-like Hispanic guy, Rob: (no response)

I have no idea why but this totally made my afternoon.

Tell me it's not just me...

Okay, so I'm pretty sure I'm not totally nuts but here's the deal...I have my phone set to vibrate before it rings.  I usually keep my phone in my left front pocket or in my desk drawer at work.  Here's where I start to go nuts.  I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket...when it's not even there(insert eerie music or sarcastic "oh brother" here).  And it's not just once or twice this has happened, we're talking multiple times everyday!  It's driving me slowly insane. The worst is on the drive home when my phone is either in my front shirt pocket or in the cup holder and my thigh goes nuts!  I have to check several times to make sure I don't have some magical phone that has appeared in my pants pocket even though I can see my phone in the freakin' cup holder next to my leg.  I'm pretty sure they make pills for whatever form of crazy I'm currently experiencing.

Oh Noes!!

I swear it’s the end of the world…

This weekend was one of the best I’ve had in a very long time. Saturday started off with a little jam session with me, 2 cousins and an uncle. We will be the musical entertainment at my cousin, Julie’s, wedding next month. I had never really played with any of them (in an organized fashion anyways) so it was really cool for me. Two of them are amazing musicians and a big reason why I picked up the guitar over 10 years ago. You’d think I’d be a lot better after 10 years, but as long as I look like I know what I’m doing, I’ll keep everybody fooled as long as I can.

Later that day we all went to the temple as immediate and extended family because Julie would be receiving her endowments. It was awesome. It was the first time my parents, my sister and I had been in the temple together since Holly got home from her mission. That, with the addition of Julie and her family, made it an even more incredible experience. And Rick. Rick is the guy Julie is marrying. He’s phenomenal and oh so perfect for Julie. He’s a perfect fit for our family full of weirdos. Good find Julie. Now find one just like him for Holly.

Sunday only intensified the family togetherness. Let me preface this first: My grandpa Val was born and raised in the Church in a small Idaho town. He was a good kid. Then he joined the Navy. A few wrong turns later and alcohol and tobacco were part of his life. He married a sweet girl named Mary and they started a family. They had five kids and settled down in Arizona once Val left the Navy. The kids grew up and started their own families. By the time I was born Grandpa Val had stopped smoking and drinking. He never went to Church though. The only times I’d ever seen him in a church was to send a grandkid off on a mission or if someone had died, always wearing his patented “Marryin’ n’ Buryin’” suit. Out of Val and Mary’s five kids, only the two oldest daughters (and their families) are active members. We’ve tried countless times to get them back to church and if they did go it was only once or twice and then nothing more. Fast forward to 2008. When Julie got engaged she went straight to Grandma and Grandpa’s to tell them. This was a moment that would change our family. Julie told them about her engagement and then, whether led by the Spirit or her heart, asked Grandma Mary to be at her Temple wedding. Grandma replied, “I’ll be there”. She then turned to Grandpa Val. The same question followed and his reply, “I’ll try”. These were amazing words for Julie and for the rest of our family. Grandma and Grandpa have never been to the Temple so there was much preparation ahead. But their willingness to put forth all the effort necessary was a miracle in itself. As of today they have received all the Temple Preparation lessons. Fast forward to yesterday. We went to Stake Conference in Scottsdale where we all raised our hands in support of my Grandpa receiving the Melchizidek Priesthood and being ordained to the office of an Elder. On a whim, the Stake President called Julie and Grandpa up the stand to share their testimonies. Julie went first and bore a sweet testimony of forever families and the story of our Grandpa’s journey. Then Grandpa got up. It was amazing to see him up there. He spoke for a moment of the love and support his family has given him. Then he said something I had never heard him say in my entire life. “I know the Church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a true Prophet.” It was a first for many of our family to hear. All of us had tears in our eyes as he spoke, including Grandpa. After Conference we all gathered in the high council room. We stood in a circle, placed our hands on his head and gave my Grandpa Val the Melchizidek Priesthood. Another amazing experience, not only for Grandpa, but for everyone else in the family.

We all are hoping and praying that my Grandparents can attend the Temple in time for Julie’s wedding but mostly we’re just praying they get there.

Get your food storage together people...the Second Coming has gotta be close!

Signs you need to loosen your schedule...or take special pills...

When you actually buy pre-cooked, pre-peeled Hard Boiled Eggs In a Bag. The package boasts that it contains 9-10 eggs per bag!! Oh boy!! Less eggs for more money!? Where do I sign up? The cost of this confusing time saver is roughly almost $5. So you pay twice as much for less eggs...but, hey, they're cooked AND peeled! Seeing them floating around in the bag reminds me of that huge jar of pickled eggs that used to sit on the counter of the meat department of every grocery store. You know, the ones no one bought because 1) they're nasty and, 2) they're probably at least 20 years old. Well, now you can try them in the comfort of your own home. These ones aren't pickled but they're probably just as gross. The awesome people at thekitchn.com, part of apartmenttherapy.com (recommended), actually bought them and put them in their mouths. The result..."stale", "rubbery whites" and "hard yolks" were a few adjectives thrown out. You'd not only have to be pretty hard-pressed for time to consume these but probably a little bit overdue for some therapy as well. If you have the time, however, here's some tips to make the process all the more easy!

So...what do you do all day?

I’ve been asked by several people where I found some of the stuff I’ve posted. While some of it came from random surfing, there are several websites that I visit throughout the day that I love. My day doesn’t seem complete without at least one visit to these awesome sites. This isn’t all of them but these are the big ones. Also, I haven’t posted stuff from all these sites, just a few. But I highly recommend all of them. I’ll include a little description with each so you’ll know what it’s about and if it’s worth the trip across the World Wide Web for you (in my opinion they all are). Here’s my list of great time wasters:

www.woot.com – This site has one thing for sale each day until it's sold out and it’s usually at a good price.
www.tanga.com – Much like Woot but this one has daily puzzles you can solve. I think Woot is better for buying though.
www.uncrate.com – If something cool or awesome or both is about to come out or is available now, these guys will find it and let you know where you can get it. One of my favorites. They also run www.bargainist.com (good deals and freebies) and www.outblush.com (for the lady folk).
www.thesneeze.com – This is one awesome site. It gets kinda cussy at certain points but not overwhelmingly so. I highly recommend starting with Steve, Don’t Eat It and then going anywhere on the site after that. It’s all great. I got my sister hooked on this one. Definitely at the top of the list.
www.craigslist.com – If you don’t know what this one is you obviously don’t know how to use the internet, or don’t have it, and you probably aren’t even reading this anyways, so…yeah…
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com – This is a great design/DIY blog done by a talented Graphic Designer named Jessica Jones. She’s also funny and very entertaining and has tons of snazzy projects to make your house/apartment cooler than it currently is (and, yes, that’s possible). She also has a bunch of links on the left side of her blog that lead to equally cool websites.
www.gmail.com – I pretty much leave this one up all day. I check email, write emails but mostly chat with my sister and whatever friends I have left. If you don’t have a Gmail account, ditch Hotmail or Yahoo and do yourself a favor. It’s, like, 1.21 Jigawatts better!
www.google.com – I’m not even going to bother explaining this…
www.gizmodo.com – This is one of my top favorite because I’m a nerd. I like gadgets and electronics and dorky stuff. I also like humor. Lucky for me this site combines all of them into a super-techno-funny-blog. If you’re at all interested in cool gadgety stuff, check this site out. It’s updated throughout the day so there’s always something new to read.
www.musiciansfriend.com – This is where I go to drool over guitars. Faded Cherry Flying V, you will be mine some day. Oh yes, you will be mine.
www.tigerdirect.com – This is where I go to drool over computer parts. Newegg is good, too.
www.azcentral.com – Local and Global news. I’ve even written reviews of four restaurants on this site right HERE. So you know they’re top notch.

That’s all you really need to know about right now. I’m sure there are more but it’s too much effort to remember all of them. Besides, these should keep you plenty busy. If you know of any other fun sites that aren’t listed please leave them in the comments for me and the other three people who actually read this blog. We’ll entertain each other indirectly through the internet. It’ll be fun.

Orange is the color of Feral Cat Awareness

We’ve all seen the pink ribbons for Breast Cancer awareness, right? This is a great idea to raise awareness for a disease that has affected many people’s lives. But did you know there are other colors for other types of awareness? I bet you only know a few. Puzzle Pieces for Autism, Green for Organ Donation and Yellow for Support Our Troops are the relatively popular ones. But did you know that PURPLE is the color for domestic violence awareness and religious tolerance? It’s also the color for lupus, the homeless and children left unattended in cars. ORANGE is the color for Leukemia awareness as well as hunger, racial tolerance, and Support of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and North Samaria (Israel). Orange is also the awareness color of, I kid you not, feral cats. That’s right…feral cats. I love the fact that we’re raising awareness for diseases and certain conditions but feral cats? C’mon...is this really an issue everyone needs to be aware of? Is this even a problem anymore? And by awareness are we protecting them or wanting to be rid of them? So many questions. Anyways, let’s continue. BLUE is for child abuse prevention, hurricane support, Officers lost in the line of duty and free speech. My dad is a great man. He only wears grey t-shirts. I wasn’t sure why until today when I found out that GREY is the awareness color for brain cancer, asthma, diabetes and allergies. All my life he’s been trying to make a statement and I finally got his message. My hat’s off to you dad in your war against allergies and asthma. I salute you.

There are no less than 50 colors and color combinations that raise awareness of things like Prostate Cancer (light blue) and Homeopathy practices (emerald green) to chronic pelvic pain (light green) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (teal). Members of my family have suffered illnesses for which people are trying to raise awareness. I am a proud organ donor and encourage others to do the same. I guess the whole point is sometimes we can go too far. I can only imagine the kind of person walking around with an orange ribbon on supporting feral cat awareness. So pick a worthy cause and stand behind it. Slap on a purple ribbon for Patrick Swayze and let the world know just how aware you really are.

Fun and Ewoks at the TMF

Kristi and I went to the Tempe Music Festival on Saturday because I won free tickets from Movin' 97.5 FM. We had a blast and the highlight for me was definitely seeing the Gin Blossoms. It had been forever since I had seen them and they still, to this day, remain one of my favorite bands. Fergie was the headliner that night but we left before she even came on stage. Neither of us are big fans and we probably couldn't handle all the Fergaliciousness that was about to be released. We also won passes to the "Glamour Lounge" which consisted of a 10'x20' space closed off by chain link fence with music that was too loud and free food and gelato. Man, I love winning stuff. So, we both had a good time, saw some bands, had some funnel cake and then went home.

Today at work I was looking at AZcentral.com and saw that there was pictures from the festival. I started looking through them and stopped when I swear I thought I saw an Ewok in one of the pictures. Maybe I know a little too much about Star Wars and recognized it too easily but I've made a comparison chart below...I'll let you decide: Ewok descendant or unfortunate coincidence?

LUNCH!

While we're on the topic of water creatures (see post below) I thought I'd share with you what I had for lunch the other day at one of my favorite lunch spots: Phoenix Ranch Market. Behold my meal...

Yes that is an entire fried fish and, yes, it was delicious. I pretty much ate everything but the eyeballs which if anyone tells you they're good, they're not. They pop with gross eye goo in your mouth which has a less than savory flavor. Africans love 'em though...ahhh, mission stories.

Eagle Rays go on killing spree in Florida!!

Okay, I read this and thought it was a little nuts. And I don't know why I pluralized it, there's only one. No need to blame the whole Eagle Ray community.

Get this... "Judy Kay Zagorski was sitting in the front seat of a boat traveling 25 mph on Thursday when she was struck in the face..." by a friggin Eagle Ray!! This 75-pound ray literally flew out of the water and hit this lady square in the face. IN THE FACE!! This all took place in the Florida Keys yesterday. With all due respect to the deceased, this is an awesome story. The murder suspect is seen below...

Source

Photography

I love photography. I wish I had taken a class in high school or college when I had the chance. I'm sure I still do have the chance, but with work, piano lessons, and everything else that takes up time in my life, I don't know where I could fit the time in. Every summer for the last two or three years we've visited Mike's grandparents in Greer. Usually around Labor Day weekend we'll go and spend a relaxing and blissful weekend and only worry about what lake to go fishing or where we want to eat. I just love being out in nature so we've been playing with our simple Easyshare Kodak digital and with more and more practice we've been getting some really good pictures. Well, they look better than the first ones we've tried to take. We edited some of the photos on iphoto on our mac. Like I said, we're not professionals, but I need to find a good spot for some of these pics in our house because I'm so proud of them.