My next video game night with the guys may have to be an 8-bit throwback where we all chip in to hire these dudes.

(via)

You will be mine today, Uncharted 2, oh yes you will be mine…after I do some work, have a few meetings and make ≈150 phone calls.

*sigh*

chriscantwell:

This Toy Story remix will make your day. I promise. And then you won’t be able to get it out of your head, and you might go insane. But a happy insane.

This is relevant to my interests…

Within my immediate vicinity (easy reach, no getting out of my chair required) I have the following at my disposal:

• Macbook (black)
• Additional monitor
• Wacom Bamboo tablet
• Maxtor 1TB external drive
• Apple iPod Touch
• Blackberry Bold
• Palm Pre
• Amazon Kindle 2

I’m kind of proud and kind of ashamed of myself right now. I’m also ADHDing like a motherfucker, but that could be the four cups of english breakfast I’ve sucked down since 9am.

thedailywhat:

IRL Mecha of the Day: Following fast in Tokyo’s footsteps, the Japanese city of Kobe has erected a mecha defender of its own, the veteran bot Gigantor, which stands 59.06 feet tall — narrowly defeating Tokyo’s 59-foot-tall Gundam statue.

Somehow I don’t see this One-upmechaship ending well for humanity.

Get up close (but not too close) here.

[via.]

Why isn’t it made of meat?

Mr. Aden, 37, is part militia commander, part schoolteacher, part lawmaker, part engineer, part environmentalist, part king — a mind-boggling combination of roles for anyone to play, let alone for a guy who dresses (and talks) like a rapper and recently moved from Minnesota to Somalia in an effort to build a local government.

Sometimes you run across an article that you feel compelled to share because it opens up your worldview to such a staggering degree.  This is one of those times for me.

This man emigrated to the US at 22, put himself through college, began a family, and then decided to move back to Somalia to create what is now considered one of the safest sections of one of the most broken places on Earth.

This is worth a read. This is worth a whole film, but for now, the read will have to suffice.

It is so fucking ON!

K’naan - People Like Me

The whole album’s awesome, but I particularly recommend Fatima, Wavin’ Flag, and If Rap Gets Jealous.  Also right now it’s a total steal at only $7.99 on iTunes.

As some of you might remember, last night in a fit of Adobe CS4 induced hysteria I posted the following ad to Craigslist Gigs:

Pilots needed to defend the universe. (Earth)

Pilots needed for group of universal defenders.

I am in desperate need for four pilots to help with my new planetary defense force endeavor. This is a (hopefully) long-term gig.

I have invented five robotic lions which are able to combine together to form a (larger) giant space robot. I intend to use these giant robots to defend earth from the horrible menaces of the universe. I will be piloting one specific robotic lion (the head) however I require pilots to form the feet/legs as well as arms/body (it’ll make sense when I show you - promise.)

While I have done my best to make the giant combining robot lions as user-friendly as possible, I would appreciate at least some sort of military aviation experience; the last thing I need is you piledriving a foot up my giant robotic billion dollar ass because you couldn’t control your megathrusters.

There are four positions available, however I am planning on keeping a backup list “just in case.” Pay is dependent on experience, benefits, overtime, and 410(k) offered. Valid passport required. References are a must, however video applications will not be accepted. Minority and female positions available. Priority given to applicants able to operate awesome 80’s FX keyboard.

• Location: Earth
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
• Compensation: DOE

The email responses that I’ve received have been nothing short of amazing.  While I got a surprising number of headshots, and one - well there’s no other word for this - dickshot, a good number of people recognized the humor and played along.

This guy obviously got the joke:

FOOL !!!    Did you not think that I would see your treacherous scheme on your interweb ??

HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!! Once again you will fail and I will rule the Galaxy! ,….save yourself the trouble and bow to ZORKRELL NOW!!!,…you miscreant insect,…and I may let you be my pet.

So did this guy:

Very interested in this position.  I have 16 years pilot experience.  Worked at NASA helping to developed air/space robotic technology that could be used in a time of need in the late 80’s to help save the planet. Since then I have primarily just been flying around with my home made jet-pac on my back looking for the right opportunity to band together with others that want to defend and kick ass. If I can fly over for an interview anytime this week.

One guy made up a whole resume for someone named “I. M. Intergalactic-Pilot” from “Awesometown” and I appreciated that sort of commitment to a joke.  It’s too long to post here, but lemme tell you, this dude was fucking qualified.

Some people, though…just didn’t get it:

I came across this post and wanting to know if this is real. These are some wild times and people are app to believe a lot of wild things. So let me know and if this is a joke, well played my friend.

or

very interesting….lets def talk….want to know if its real and wats the plans…thanks

Some people just didn’t like it:

U are a retard

I think this dude’s comment is a bit like the pot calling the kettle…well, smoking pot:

You are an interesting person……but you are not interesting enough.  You are just about as clever as a douche on drugs. You are a USC student.  Reply with my full first and last name in the subject heading and I will consider giving you “right hand man” position on my quest to save the world.  Your quest sucks and you know it…

You know what my universal defense force doesn’t need?  Mavericks.  Every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe. I don’t like you because you’re dangerous.

ill fly a lion     i used to race cars so hook me up!!

or apathy:

Dude, this position is so sweet and totally meant for me.  I do have prior military (although I was a mechanic) and have flown on a couple planes (southwest, continental,etc) so I think I have the experience.  But, if for some reason my experience does not impress you (I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t), I have great references.  One guy was an extra with me in a movie and this other chick waited tables with me.  The chick might want to defend the universe too, but just so you know, she can’t drive for shit (just between you and me) so I don’t know how good she could fly a robot arm… But anyway, dude, I’m not really doing anything, so I could start tomorrow. Later, man, force be with you, or, whatever-

My absolute favorite though, was this woman. I genuinely laughed out loud from her email.  Well played miss:

Hi, while I don’t have military aviation experience, on MANY occasions, I have flown my friend’s hovercraft prototype for his Science Olympiad project. I am willing to learn how to operate these robotic lions. You won’t have to invest in a uniform for me because I already have a radiation-proof suit acquired from a post Y2K garage sale. It may be almost a decade old but I trust that it’ll get me through the atmosphere just fine.

I understand that there is pay, benefits, overtime, and 410(k) offered but I am wondering if I will get compensated for any expenses I may incur during my shifts. I have a valid passport and your listing indicated that minority and female positions available. I am a minority AND a female, an asian girl. Also, you stated that priority will be given to applicants able to operate an awesome 80’s FX keyboard. I have never touched one in my life but I believe that as an avid listener of Cobra Starship, I will be able to play by ear once one is put in front of me.

My word program is down. Please accept my references in the body of this email. Reference, singular, to be exact. However, I think that it will suffice.

REFERENCE:

Chuck Norris

You know who didn’t appreciate this evening’s nostalgic foray into the absurd though?

Your posting has been flagged for removal….in violation of craigslist posting guidelines.

Please make sure you are abiding by all posted site rules, including our terms of use.

Have a sense of humor Craig.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the publicly accessible image of a modern businessman:

1. Anyone who runs across your name or occupation anywhere should be able to get an immediate grasp on who you are, what you’re doing, and your place in whatever field you work in. Anything beyond or outside of that is personal and therefore inappropriate.
2. People are more complicated than the above, so present yourself unapologetically and honestly in all of your multifaceted glory.

I fall squarely into the second category.  Yes, I am a businessman, and were I to feel like I was having a particularly successful day I might even describe myself as an “entrepreneur.”  Either way, I have a company which deals within a certain realm of product(s) and my livelihood depends on the knowledge and sales of those products to a certain cross-section of the populace.

I just…well…I just can’t be only that.  I’m more than just that cardboard cutout.  Hell, if the business side of me as described above were written in a script I’d suggest that the author take the time to flesh out the character a lot more.

I like cars.  I like video games.  I’m opinionated on politics and music.  I write things myself occasionally.  My sense of humor runs towards the whimsically surreal.  I’m genuinely passionate about entertainment and the online realm, but there are aspects of my personality and interests which go beyond that as well.  Most of the people I know in business are fascinatingly multifaceted, but there’s this weird idea that you shouldn’t publicly show interest in anything that’s not part of your “core” current business endeavor.  To me, it’s just as interesting to see the other aspects of people’s interests as it is to hear their business advice.

Gary Vaynerchuk is an amazing businessman.  He obviously knows a tremendous amount about wine and business; he’s also a huge Jets fan and anyone paying attention to him for more than ten seconds knows that.  That’s interesting to me; it makes Gary more human, and gives me a level to interact on if my wine knowledge is slim (“I like drinking it.”)  Some people I know professionally like cars, some are baseball fanatics, some are Linux geeks (when I found that out, you better believe my respect for that guy soared.)  It’s all part of who they are.

I’ve had people on business calls bring up my workout posts, my opinions on politics, or the time when I told the internet that it should get really stoned and listen to Dark Side of the Moon; none of it bothers me.  I’m aware that I’m broadcasting my thoughts into the ether of the entire internet and I’m fine with presenting certain aspects of myself to be disseminated publicly.  Has it kept some people from getting into business with me?  I’m aware of two specific cases, yes.  One case was because someone disagreed with me politically and one was because the person disagreed with a specific religious stance I’d taken.  In both cases I wouldn’t trade being inauthentic for a slight bit more commerce.

In the end, my business is - at its core - me and my ideas. I rarely shy away from giving my opinion when asked in person, and this probably comes from the same place.  I have lines and limits to what I present and have once or twice decided not to post something because it was a little too gray area, but I’m aware of what I post, and okay with it.  I just like presenting myself in as unapologetically and unabashedly honest a manner as possible.  I don’t apologize for who I am, and I’m not ashamed of my interests or opinions.

Hell, you could easily look at it this way: if you’re debating getting into business with me, I’m just making it that much easier for you to know what exactly you’re getting into.

Regardless of what viewers may think of the opinions of Jeremy Clarkson and his cohorts at Top Gear, no one can argue with the production values. The cinematography is magnificent and even those who couldn’t care less about cars find themselves getting sucked into the BBC program’s visuals. Amazingly though, aside from one 2007 special, the show has always been shot with standard definition cameras (*cue Clarkson voice*)…. Until now.

My love for this show knows no earthly bounds.

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

tanya77:

onefootinthegrave:

loudpop:

1968 Chevelle Malibu SS 396

*drool*

There’s this place in Santa Monica called Cars With Class that I love to swing by and just spend an hour drooling and dreaming. They had one of these a while back I think; deep cherry red, with the same wheels. It was standing next to what was unquestionably the most intimidating car I’ve ever seen in person.

ladimcbeth:

Excerpt from the most hilarious thing I’ve read in a while. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe anymore. For the full conversation, go here: http://thebloggess.com/?p=3817

Trust me, it’s totally worth it.

Victor:  You’re not using the GPS because you don’t appreciate the tone of the robot?

Me:  No, that’s just the start.  Because then she told me to turn on West Lion street but there was no West Lion Street so I kept making illegal u-turns and finally I realized that she was mispronouncing Wesley-Ann Street.  Probably on purpose.

Victor:  It’s “Weslayan Street”.  You still haven’t seen a street sign?

Me:  Oh.  Sorry.  I kind of forgot I was driving.

Victor:  You forgot you were driving while you were driving?

Me:  It’s not like I ran into a cow.  I just forgot I was looking for signs.

Victor:  If you ever make it home I’m hiding your car keys.

This whole thing is pretty genius, and doesn’t remind me of anyone I know at all.

ladimcbeth:

thedailywhat:

Red Band Movie Trailer of the Day: The first official trailer for Troy Duffy’s long, long, long (long, long (long)) awaited Boondock Saints follow-up, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.

The film, which features role reprisals from Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, and Billy Connolly, alongside the welcome addition of Peter Fonda and Judd Nelson, is due in theaters October 30.

[via.]

We’re good. Yes, we are.

KICK. ASS.

Fuck. Yes.