Alright, I will admit it I am a FireFox fan, but I decided to give Google's new Chrome a shot. I expected something a bit more "new" but what I saw was an application that reminded me a lot of Safari, which is also a good browser.
Immediately I liked the layout of their tabs, it looked a bit cleaner and less blocky. I found that the "out of the box" settings are a big dumb. For instance, when you open a new tab it takes you to a page that shows you recent history instead of opening a page that you designate. If I wanted to view my recent history I would go to my history page or a bookmark, usually I want to see my iGoogle page.
I also like the "incognito mode" that keeps your browsing history private. The thing about this mode is the fact that Google has been under fire for how much information they normally track, so to me if I have to use their browser I am skeptical on how much more info they are tracking outside of this new "porn mode".
The one big flaw I saw was with it's url bar. FireFox 3.0's Awesome Bar is far superior. It does contextual searches for page titles and urls instead of just page titles. When I visited Filmcrave and then went to type in the url again. I typed in "crave" and it highligted crave.com -- I never even visited that site! I didn't like that at all. If I type in crave into Firefox 3.0, I get all sorts of Filmcrave related pages. Much nicer.
The final thing I looked at was memory consumption. Chrome appears to use less, but it is a bit deceiving because it opens up each tab as a new process while in the meantime the main process grows in size each time as well. From a fresh reboot I opened the same 4 websites. FireFox used 77mb total and Chrome used 91mb (all the processes combined). I am sure as you close your websites and it releases all of the memory that Chrome ends up using less on average, but overall it isn't that special.
In the end I was expecting Chrome to be something substantially different, and I found that it was basically a cross between Safari and IE8 due to be out this spring. Until then I am sticking with FireFox, which ironically is being funded by Google until 2011.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
No sympathy for killers
Alright, this is one of my biggest political pet peeves. I read today that a man who killed two college girls is now saying he shouldn't be executed because he is too fat. His lawyer is pleading that the nurse will have a hard time finding a vein, making him unfit for death-row.
I always knew it cost more to kill a man than to keep him in prison for life because they appeal so much while on death-row. But I never realized the reasons for the appeal were so screwed up.
A person on death-row should not be afforded the same courtesy as a regular person. I will even take it a step further: there are basic human rights you give up when you show you are barely human. If you kill, rape or torture another human then you are no longer considered "human". What makes us human is not our appearance, it is what is in our hearts and minds. If you can't think or feel enough to prevent you from killing then I hope that nurse spends an hour sticking you with that needle, trying to find a vein, and maybe in that agonizing hour you will find your conciseness.
I always knew it cost more to kill a man than to keep him in prison for life because they appeal so much while on death-row. But I never realized the reasons for the appeal were so screwed up.
A person on death-row should not be afforded the same courtesy as a regular person. I will even take it a step further: there are basic human rights you give up when you show you are barely human. If you kill, rape or torture another human then you are no longer considered "human". What makes us human is not our appearance, it is what is in our hearts and minds. If you can't think or feel enough to prevent you from killing then I hope that nurse spends an hour sticking you with that needle, trying to find a vein, and maybe in that agonizing hour you will find your conciseness.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Gas Price Manipulation
It seems to me that with with the price of oil down 20% in the last couple of weeks that gas prices should have followed suit. However, what we are seeing is typical price manipulation where the price has only fallen 5% nationwide.
I have read that this is called "Rockets and Feathers" and has been the way oil and gas have worked for 20 years. The problem is the price at the pump is largely based on the price of oil in the future no today. So as prices drop, it will slowly reflect the price at the pump but you need a trend of a year of lower prices in order to have the full drop. The result is steady rising prices with no relief.
Some also say that when prices are on the incline people are more apt to price shop for gas, but when it is falling people fill-up and get there gas whenever and where ever they can making it less competitive for gas stations -- thus prices hold steady.
I don't have a solution, it just pisses me off.
I have read that this is called "Rockets and Feathers" and has been the way oil and gas have worked for 20 years. The problem is the price at the pump is largely based on the price of oil in the future no today. So as prices drop, it will slowly reflect the price at the pump but you need a trend of a year of lower prices in order to have the full drop. The result is steady rising prices with no relief.
Some also say that when prices are on the incline people are more apt to price shop for gas, but when it is falling people fill-up and get there gas whenever and where ever they can making it less competitive for gas stations -- thus prices hold steady.
I don't have a solution, it just pisses me off.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2.5/4 stars)
While I don't regret going to this movie at all, I am hard pressed to find things I can actually say were really good. The movie uses the typical action/adventure formula with goofy sidekicks, witty dialog and obvious story line (think The Mummy). So with that said, Spielberg disappointed me. Fortunately for him, this formula still works decently and made for a film that I enjoyed overall.
There were a couple of scenes that ruined my enjoyment however. To me, I separate the supernatural from the natural and when something in a movie that is supernatural occurs I am willing to believe it for the movie's sake. But when something natural happens that just couldn't happen, I have trouble getting past it. For example, in this movie Indiana takes cover in a refrigerator at a nuclear test site right before it is blown to smithereens. He then flies over a mile in the air and drops down without a scratch. These type of things ruin movies for me because they are just way too unrealistic.
Another scene was when Shai's character turns into Tarzan and is one with the monkeys. Sure monkey's are cool but this whole scene could have been removed.
It wasn't all like that, most of the action was fun to watch and even sometime funny. Overall I wasn't expecting much and it exceeded my expectations, but I was still expecting more from Spielberg who I have been slowly loosing faith in as a Director that can do something new and unique.
There were a couple of scenes that ruined my enjoyment however. To me, I separate the supernatural from the natural and when something in a movie that is supernatural occurs I am willing to believe it for the movie's sake. But when something natural happens that just couldn't happen, I have trouble getting past it. For example, in this movie Indiana takes cover in a refrigerator at a nuclear test site right before it is blown to smithereens. He then flies over a mile in the air and drops down without a scratch. These type of things ruin movies for me because they are just way too unrealistic.
Another scene was when Shai's character turns into Tarzan and is one with the monkeys. Sure monkey's are cool but this whole scene could have been removed.
It wasn't all like that, most of the action was fun to watch and even sometime funny. Overall I wasn't expecting much and it exceeded my expectations, but I was still expecting more from Spielberg who I have been slowly loosing faith in as a Director that can do something new and unique.
Teeth (3/4 stars)
I expected this to be horrible, but it is actually a really good comedy. The idea of the movie is interesting enough, but the acting and dialog was just awkwardly funny. I laughed aloud throughout the whole film and even though it wasn't a great story and you could see what was going to happen a mile away, it didn't really hurt the movie.
If this movie knew the plot was retarded and they exploited it and there is nothing better than a movie that makes fun of itself. As a horror, it isn't really there, though it did make me cringe a few times.
If you don't take this too seriously, you will laugh your ass off.
If this movie knew the plot was retarded and they exploited it and there is nothing better than a movie that makes fun of itself. As a horror, it isn't really there, though it did make me cringe a few times.
If you don't take this too seriously, you will laugh your ass off.
More Teeth movie reviews
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Rantings.... from Facebook to 2008 Election
Recently more than a few things have been pissing me off. What happened to all the things I used to enjoy. I used to like wasting time on Facebook, following politics, driving and knowing what size clothes I wear. Now I find that the simple things that I enjoyed are in jeopardy.
Facebook
Facebook has gone all wrong, what used to be a nice clean interface that was easier to use than myspace, has gotten cluttered with application and friends feeds. I can't figure out what the heck is going on anymore. So I took some time off, when I logged back in I had 16 friend requesting me to partake in their applications. Some of them sounded interesting but did I really want to "turn on" the application to see what the heck it is? No! So I end up spending 90% of my time clicking the "ignore" button rather than chatting with my friends like it is designed for.
Politics
I always viewed myself as a die-hard democrat until recently. After the Obama v. Hillary race for the white house I have a bad taste in my mouth. The white house was the democrats for the taking, yet we find ourselves in April and they are still beating the crap out of each other. I realize they both really want the job, but for the sake of the American people, try to show that you can work together. The democrats can't get out of their own way, how the heck to they expect to win that way.
It has gone on long enough. From the wise words from the movie Zoolander: "I feel like I am taking crazy pills.” They are the same person, except one is black and one is a woman. Other than that they are going to do the same thing -- sit on their elitist chair and watch as America continues to try and please everyone, thus pleasing no one.
Gas Prices and Road Trips
My driving enjoyment has been hit of late. With prices around the $3.50 range I recently calculated how much it would cost me to drive home. It is a 1500 mile journey (each way) and my car is a Scion xB, so I figured I have done this many times before and it wasn't that bad. It is going to cost $350 bucks to get there and back. That is outrageous!
Clothing Sizes
Why is it that I go into one store and I can’t fit into the same sized cloths as another store? This is especially frustrating when I am buying jeans. For god sakes the jeans are measured by inches not by some arbitrary size that each brand has.
I would like to walk into a store and pick stuff off the shelf without trying it on and have it fit. Apparently this is too difficult and to achieve such clothing standards would make the world implode. Maybe I should just say “screw it” and wear nothing but sweats and XL tees from now on.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
New Comedy Site, KillerCondom.com
Ever wonder if Chuck Norris would kick Rambo's butt?
If so, Killercondom is a new site is for you. It will tackle the important match ups and pose some interesting questions.
Some match ups are:
Hillary vs. Obama
James Dalton vs. Johnny Castle
Snuggles vs. Poppin' Fresh
It will be updated weekly and is dedicated to matching up people and fictional characters.
If so, Killercondom is a new site is for you. It will tackle the important match ups and pose some interesting questions.
Some match ups are:
Hillary vs. Obama
James Dalton vs. Johnny Castle
Snuggles vs. Poppin' Fresh
It will be updated weekly and is dedicated to matching up people and fictional characters.
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