Servo3000: Live on the Web

On Friday, I am leaving for a 12 day trip to Japan.  There is obviously no shortage of things to see and do there, but I thought I would go out of my way to get the full experience.  So I came up this little scavenger hunt:

1. Battle a robot
2. Buy beer from a vending machine
3. Find a poorly translated sign
4. Drink a beverage that has an octopus, squid, or crab on the bottle
5. Drink some Sweat
6. Sing at a karaoke bar
7. Eat a Creamy Ball
8. Eat a Coming Lemon
9. Find something Elvis-related
10. Find a shirt with random English words

I should be able to do all these, and it gives me a few goals to strive for.  I hope to update the blog while I’m in Japan, otherwise I’ll post one big update when I get back.

Trinity University beat Millsaps College 28 – 24 on a final play that saw the ball being lateraled 15 times. What more can be said…just check out the video:

In celebration of Guitar Hero 3 coming out tonight, here are three videos from the game:

Dragonforce – Through the Fire and the Flames

Metallica – One

The final boss battle: The Devil Went Down to Georgia

This past Tuesday, during the California fires, FEMA held a “press conference” that was carried live on several networks.  The only problem?  The questions asked of deputy administrator Harvey Johnson weren’t asked by reporters, but rather his own staff.  The Washington Post reports:

We’re told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA’s deputy director of external affairs, and by “Mike” Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John “Pat” Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Government staged propaganda just creeps me out.

via Think Progress

From Editor & Publisher:

Less than a week ago, shortly after he announced for president, Stephen Colbert was favored by only a little more than 2% of Democrats as the favorite for the nomination. Now, a Rasmussen Report national telephone survey has found that he gains 13% of voters in a matchup with Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

With former Sen. Fred Thompson substituted for Giuliani, the host of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report still got 12%.

If he keeps gaining over 10% a week, Colbert should be leading the field before November is out. 

I love the fact that Colbert is running, even if it is only in South Carolina.  By going on the campaign trail in his Colbert persona he can highlight the absurdities of our political system and show how it has become a pure media dog and pony show.  It reminds me of when Jon Stewart went on CNN’s Crossfire and totally exposed how hollow the show was.  The 13 year old program was canceled months later.

This card will work better once we are down to a two person debate; right now you would get bingo in about three minutes when they trot all 70 bazillion candidates on stage for the debates. My favorite two:

• Candidate recounts wisdom learned from talking to person from a disenfranchised minority group.
• Candidate ignores question, answers with canned speech about the greatness of this nation.

Click image for the full card.

From Buttafly, via Neatorama

From Wikipedia, songs by the original artists are in bold:
1. Starting Out Small

• “Slow Ride” – Foghat
• “Talk Dirty to Me” – Poison
• “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” – Pat Benatar
• “Story of My Life” – Social Distortion
• “Rock and Roll All Nite” – Kiss (Encore)
• “Sabotage” – Beastie Boys (Co-op Encore)

2. Your First Real Gig

• “Mississippi Queen” – Mountain
• “School’s Out” – Alice Cooper
• “Sunshine of Your Love” – Cream
• “Barracuda” – Heart
• Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello
• “Bulls on Parade” – Rage Against the Machine (Encore)
• “Reptilia” – The Strokes (Co-op Encore)

3. Making The Video

• “When You Were Young” – The Killers
• “Miss Murder” – AFI
• “The Seeker” – The Who
• “Lay Down” – Priestess
• “Paint It, Black” – The Rolling Stones (Encore)
• “Suck My Kiss” – Red Hot Chili Peppers (Co-op Encore)

4. European Invasion

• “Paranoid” – Black Sabbath
• “Anarchy in the U.K.” – Sex Pistols (Re-recorded)
• “Kool Thing” – Sonic Youth
• “My Name Is Jonas” – Weezer
• “Even Flow” – Pearl Jam (Encore)
• “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll” – Blue Öyster Cult (Co-op Encore)

5. Bighouse Blues

• “Holiday in Cambodia” – Dead Kennedys
• “Rock You Like a Hurricane” – Scorpions
• “Same Old Song and Dance” – Aerosmith
• “La Grange” – ZZ Top
• Guitar Battle vs. Slash
• “Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N’ Roses (Encore)
• “Helicopter” – Bloc Party (Co-op Encore)

6. The Hottest Band On Earth

• “Black Magic Woman” – Santana
• “Cherub Rock” – The Smashing Pumpkins
• “Black Sunshine” – White Zombie
• “The Metal” – Tenacious D
• “Pride and Joy” – Stevie Ray Vaughan (Encore)
• “Monsters” – Matchbook Romance (Co-op Encore)

7. Live In Japan

• “Before I Forget” – Slipknot
• “Stricken” – Disturbed
• “3’s & 7’s” – Queens of the Stone Age
• “Knights of Cydonia” – Muse
• “Cult of Personality” – Living Colour (Re-recorded) (Encore)

8. Battle For Your Soul

• “Raining Blood” – Slayer
• “Cliffs of Dover” – Eric Johnson
• “The Number of the Beast” – Iron Maiden
• “One” – Metallica
• Guitar Battle vs. Lou
• “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – Charlie Daniels Band (Steve Ouimette rendition) (Encore)

Bonus Tracks

• “Avalancha” – Héroes del Silencio
• “Can’t Be Saved” – Senses Fail
• “Closer” – Lacuna Coil
• “Don’t Hold Back” – The Sleeping
• “Down n’ Dirty” – LA Slum Lords
• “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.” – The Fall of Troy
• “Generation Rock” – Revolverheld
• “Go That Far” – Bret Michaels Band
• “Hier Kommt Alex” – Die Toten Hosen
• “I’m in the Band” – The Hellacopters
• “Impulse” – An Endless Sporadic
• “In Love” – Scouts of St. Sebastian
• “In the Belly of a Shark” – Gallows
• “Mauvais Garçon” – Naast
• “Metal Heavy Lady” – Lions
• “Minus Celsius” – Backyard Babies
• “My Curse” – Killswitch Engage
• “Nothing for Me Here” – Dope
• “Prayer of the Refugee” – Rise Against
• “Radio Song” – Superbus
• “Ruby” – Kaiser Chiefs
• “She Bangs the Drums” – The Stone Roses
• “Take This Life” – In Flames
• “The Way It Ends” – Prototype
• “Through the Fire and Flames” – DragonForce

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had her 14 pages of testimony on the subject of the impact of climate change on health cut to just 4 pages by the White House.  What got cut?

The deletions directed by the White House included details on how many people might be adversely affected because of increased warming and the scientific basis for some of the CDC’s analysis on what kinds of diseases might be spread in a warmer climate and rising sea levels, according to one official who has seen the original version.

MSNBC has more details here.

Unfortunately, this heavy handed censorship of science on climate change is not new.  A NASA PR appointee, George Deutsch,  who worked on the Bush campaign attempted to silence Dr. James Hansen on this same topic.  Deutsch, who said that his job was “to make the president look good”, later resigned after it became known that he falsified his resume.  Scientific Activist has more details, and Dr. Hansen says it best:

“He’s only a bit player,” Dr. Hansen said of Mr. Deutsch. ” The problem is much broader and much deeper and it goes across agencies. That’s what I’m really concerned about.”

“On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed,” he said. “The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That’s the big issue here.”

This Google Maps mashup plots each fire and lets you easily see if they are contained or not. It’s amazing how many are burning right now.

Update: Neatorama posted a link to a better one that shows evacuation sites, estimated fire locations and estimated evacuation areas. Find it here.

What do I need to help me sleep at night?  Why, the Back Up of course – a device that gives my bed side mounted shotgun racks.  During the ordering instructions that point out that “many customers are buying one for each side of the bed”.  Yeah, you know, for extra safety and all.

via Consumerist