Squished Frog Blog

twitterin' away 7-03-2008

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:11:01 -0500

09:35 My radio interview on NHPR from yesterday is now on the interwebbing. Listen to my melodious ums at ping.fm/G6GJh #
15:42 The afternoon's salsa and guac making is fini. Thus endeth my IndyDay food contributions, done one day early. #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

Stop Trying New Things (Man in the Box)

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:11:20 -0500

From my favorite online TV show at the moment...

This brings to mind when my friend Mark got his earring when we were in high school. I did not in anyway have this conversation with him... I guess dudes with ear-bling were in back in 1986, though I didn't have the stones to let someone put a needle in my lobe. What I remember most: after he had his "starter earring" in for a while we looked at it in the downstairs boy's bathroom at school, and saw just how infected the spot had become... so bad it looked like he's packed guacamole around his lobe to hold the damn thing in. It kinda makes me want to throw up. (Eventually, the infection cleared up and it looked stunning. I'm sure Mark will agree, especially if he's still got it pierced. Mark?)

A Face for Radio

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:44:39 -0500

Those of you dying to hear me um and ah my way through a radio interview about my Future Tech story, now's your chance! NHPR has posted both Windows Media and MP3 versions of my interview yesterday on its Word of Mouth program. As always, there was more to say, but never enough time, but you can get the full scoop by reading the story.

twitterin' away 7-02-2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:11:48 -0500

09:12 Why do so many of my dreams involve leaking roofs? #
10:54 I'll be on New Hampshire Public Radio, noon hour. They are pros. They even sent me a script. I figure 2 minutes for me to mess it up. #
17:25 It's always nice to get reminders to hand in stories I've already handed in. Way ahead of you, automated reminder system. Nyaa. #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

Be Well Groomed, But Don't Be an Ass

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:12:22 -0500

Chad with some employee dress code tips.

twitterin' away 6-30-08

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:44:21 -0500

12:56 Not sure what to read every day online? How about 10 Blogs You Should Be Reading DAILY snurl.com/2rlx1 courtesy of PCMag.com #
15:38 The mail giveth (stimulus check) and the mail taketh awayeth (story rejection). #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

The Bloody, Beautiful English

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:46:47 -0500

As if not having another rousing season of Doctor Who this summer weren't enough, the Brits have more greatness based on past properties in the pipeline:

The Prisoner is being revived, as a six-episode mini-series. And Sir Ian "Gandalneto" McKellenhhimself will be playing Number Two, the mind-mucking badguy. Amazing. Hopefully they'll give it a real ending and not a surreal Cirque de Soliel ending like the original show.

And am I the only person who thinks the title Quantum of Solace for the next Bond filme is pure awesome? Well, you will after you see the trailer.

Ten Blogs You Should Be Reading DAILY

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:54:29 -0500

If you don't read blogs... well, then you're probably not reading this. But if you do, and you're at a loss for what to fill your RSS reader with to take up time now that there's no TV, you could do worse than to read my latest story for PC Mag (and my first that's an online-only!), Ten Blogs You Should Be Reading DAILY. It was hard to pick 10 that update all the time and are worth reading by the entire world, but somehow, I managed it. (If you don't like any of the choices, well... you're just crazy.)

twitterin' away 6-29-08

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:26:07 -0500

14:11 Bloglines.com has been down for 10 min. I feel like I've lost an appendage. (addicted to RSS? oh yes. May resort to Google Reader!) #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

The Farmers Market from HELL

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:59:05 -0500

When is going to an awesome, well stocked farmer's market no fun at all?

Just about every time I got to the Ithaca Farmers Market. Every single time, I vow never to go again, but I'm always back a few times a year. Mostly cause I love the breakfast burritos from Solaz, which are only at the market. But that still doesn't make it worth the two hours of life lost this morning.

Before we left, I told the wife -- whom I call Farmer Squanto -- that "humanity hasn't pissed me off in a while, so sure, I'll go with you." After all, she was buying.

I didn't think it would be so bad, though.

It took a full 20 minutes to get a parking space, which was only mildly annoying. But a full hour, from the moment I got back in the car until we exited on Route 13? Inexcusable. Not that the city put a cop at the intersect to alleviate some of that traffic, hell's no. Must be you need an MVA for that bit of public service to take place. I saw an Amish guy getting out of a pick-up and helping with traffic more than anyone else (he wasn't driving, so I guess it was okay... maybe he was Mennonite? I'm too pissed and ignorant to try and figure it out. He did have a very stylish purple shirt on under his vest, which I don't recall seeing in that Harrison Ford movie... but I digress).

The only time it's feasible to go there in the summer at all is before 9:30am, and I'm not a damn farmer, so I'm not up by then on a Saturday! For the love of all things organic, someone should re-think the parking or exit strategies in that area for next year. Preferably, by next week. Cause I really, really like those burritos.

twitterin' away 6-27-08

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:11:47 -0500

23:37 Watching the last Resident Evil flick. I like vegas better covered in sand. Zombies seem par for the course. #
23:39 Zombies can climb the fake Eiffel Tower but not chain link fence. That's good to know when undead apocalypse comes. #
09:13 Dictionary.com Word of the Day: "harbinger". For years, I pronounced this "har-bring-er." #
10:36 first bad firefox 3 experience: had to completely uninstall/reinstall to get any extensions to work, even if I tried manual delete. #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

Wall-E: The Robot Love Story of the Century

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:49:22 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

Ever since I left the theater, I've considering how best to articulate my feelings about Wall-E. Beautiful. Haunting. Loving. Sleek. Dystopic. Greatest soundtrack going -- even the Peter Gabriel song on the credits. Maybe even hopeful, but then again, maybe not -- not for the humans, anyway, though the closing credits might try to convince you otherwise. No matter what, it's an achievement in every way.io9's full review sums it up just about perfect, thought they're a lot more pessimistic than I think Pixar wanted us to be (but that's Pixar's own fault for making that sugar-laden, cyber-addicted spaceship in the stars look just a little too real for the future of humanity.)

Oh, and the short at the beginning is fantastic... makes me wish Pixar had the rights to re-create Bugs Bunny in CGI. In fact, I think they pretty much did, without any need for Mel Blanc.

twitterin' away 6-26-08

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:14:03 -0500

08:54 Finished radio interview #3... didn't ask much about the story, but I got to rail against tech & entertainment monopolies for a while. Fun! #
14:06 wettest dentist visit ever. Had to ask for towel to dry my face between his splashy trips into my pie hole. (result=2 temp crowns) #
16:27 my mouth is hurty. I miss the novacaine, even if it did make me drool. #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

twitterin' away 6-25-08

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:20:44 -0500

12:45 had to give up my desktop PC to the Wife so she could give an online presentation. actually "working" on the laptop is just not the same. #
16:53 I'm heading to the post office to mail my manuscript to my agent. Hopefully she will love it. tinyurl.com/4nfhr6 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter and Blogmailr

Rescue Me, Not Sucking

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:48:39 -0500

I wish Rescue Me only came in five minute chucks for ever if they're as good as this one, which was better than the entire fourth season. You'll probably have to watch a commercial to get to the good stuff, which involves words George Carlin said you can't say.