Video: World of Warcraft: Dancing

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If you haven’t seen the World of Warcraft: Dancing video yet, you should. The combination of avatar dancers superimposed over dance clips is pretty cool, but what really makes it impressive to me is just how far desktop computer animation technology has come over the years. I still remember how impressive PONG, a first generation video game, was with a single blocky pixel bouncing around the screen in black and white. Fast forward 30 some years, and now there are these game characters able to dance with the likes of John Travolta or Michael Jackson.

Here’s the video and list of clips:
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My ghost story

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Since it’s almost Halloween, I thought I’d share a little ghost story with you.

I’m no “ghost whisperer” (thank goodness), though that is the name of one of my favorite TV shows. However, I’ve always been open-minded on the topic. After all, Einstein and other scientists proved that energy can’t be destroyed. When we die, our energy (our essence, spirit, life force, or whatever you want to call it) isn’t destroyed. It is released, and it seems plausible to me that it could remain structured in a way that is still us even without a physical container to carry it.

One night, I became forever convinced of the existence of ghosts. This is the story of that night and my brief encounter with something unexplainable.
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Do you poi?

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I remember the thrill of watching the dancers at the Tahitian Terrace at Disneyland (before it was dumped for an Aladdin show in the same location) from a front-row seat as they spun burning batons around. It was very exciting–especially being so close to the action.

Today, I stumbled across a related form of entertainment called, poi. Quoting from PlayPoi.com:

Poi is a form of dance, where balls on the ends of ropes are swung through rhythmical patterns. It is rooted in the History of the Maori people of Aotearoa (aka New Zealand). It began as a physical exercise, used by the women to develop grace and flexibility, and by the men to develop strength and coordination. Today it is mostly practiced by the women, who combine the poi movements with songs and physical actions in traditional performances such as the Kapa Haka.

Here is the beautiful and entertaining YouTube video that led me to the PlayPoi site. It even includes a little fire spinning in the middle. Very cool stuff (ignoring the irony of calling fire spinning “cool”).
Read More »Do you poi?

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Televised executions

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I couldn’t believe it when the local news channel posed the question to its viewers via its website: Would you want to witness an execution… Read More »Televised executions

Save Net Radio and Music Diversity

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To compare Internet radio to traditional radio, satellite radio, or digital music channels on cable is ridiculous. Most Internet radio sites are just ordinary people… Read More »Save Net Radio and Music Diversity

Social networking sites not as social as they need to be

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How many social networks do you belong to? How many social network sites do you really need? If you’re like me, you really only need one—as long as it has everything you want. More importantly, how many times do you want to have to go through the registration process and create a new profile?
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50 Things Survey

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  1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
    Combined hot water/garbage/sewer bill, which seems unreasonably high.

  2. What’s the best place to eat a romantic dinner?
    There are many around here. Scott’s seafood is a nice, upscale restaurant with a friendly air that is good for a relaxed, intimate dining experience.

  3. Last time you puked?
    Fortunately it was longer ago than 10 years (stomach flu)

  4. When is the last time you got drunk and danced on a bar?
    That’s never been my style.

  5. What do you really want to be doing right now?
    Watching a good movie.
    Read More »50 Things Survey

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Should You Have to Have a License to Drive on the Info Highway?

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Deb Shinder, Editor of WXPNews, posed the following question (and my comments follow):

In the early days of automobiles, anyone who could afford one could buy a car and start driving. There was no driver’s education, no written exams, no vision tests, and no state troopers grading your pathetic attempts to parallel park.
…

In the 21st century, we live in a much more regulated world. And some are proposing making it more so – by requiring that you be issued some sort of “driver’s license” to get behind the wheel of a computer and venture out onto the Internet.

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Thanks for the birthday wishes!

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Thanks to everyone who posted comments on my social networking profiles wishing me a happy birthday. I love seeing the cute and/or rude things people… Read More »Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Endangered Species Chocolate – Not a toxic source of lead

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I love chocolate! (Big surprise, right? A lot of people love it.) If you read my blog regularly, you probably know that supporting organizations that save rain forests and ones that promote fair/equitable trade are very important to me. Naturally a company that makes chocolate bars from equitably traded cocoa and donates profits to save the rain forests sounds like a win-win-win idea to me. That’s exactly what Endangered Species Chocolate (chocolatebar.com) does, and my family and I love them!

I was concerned after recently reading the following information:

About 70 percent of the world’s chocolate is grown in west and central Africa. The lead content of cocoa beans is low, but that of manufactured cocoa and chocolate products is among the highest of any food. How so? No one is sure, but several major cocoa bean-producing countries in Africa used leaded gasoline until recently, and a few still do. It seems likely the toxic metal is introduced at some point, probably multiple points, during cocoa bean shipping and processing. Is there enough to worry about? The Dagoba Organic Chocolate company of Ashland, Oregon, thought so or anyway did after a little prodding from the Food and Drug Administration. Though the company wouldn’t divulge test results, it recalled 40,000 pounds of its high-end chocolate products this spring after some were found to exceed FDA standards for lead.

Since Nigeria, the place where Endangered Species Chocolate is grown and produced, is in western central Africa, it would seem like their chocolate might be at considerable risk of lead contamination. That would be heartbreaking to this chocoholic. I wrote to the company (gotta love the Internet!), and I received a very nice response back that I would like to share (only editing out some personal info). It certainly put my fears to rest.
Read More »Endangered Species Chocolate – Not a toxic source of lead

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Video: Judson Laipply – The Evolution of Dance

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Judson Laipply is one heck of a talented comic dancer. It brought back so many memories from Elvis movies to Justin Timberlake. What a trip. Thanks to my friend Joey for finding this, as he put it, “OHHH MAN, White men can dance, this is funny”. And he is right. Enjoy!
Read More »Video: Judson Laipply – The Evolution of Dance

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“Friend Like You”

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A friend like you is rare. You’re the person I always hoped to meet, But shyly, I stand and stare. As you walk past unaware,… Read More »“Friend Like You”

CRITICAL – Buffer overflow in VML used by IE and Outlook

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Summary

Threat Level: Critical Zero-Day Vulnerability
This threat is currently active and spreading in the wild. Most Windows-based computers, even if fully up-to-date with all the official Microsoft patches, are vulnerable right now unless certain actions are taken to protect yourself (see below).
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I’ve Done 88 Out of 150 Things

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Check off the things you have done.
DO NOT include explanations!
[Bite me. I’ll include explanations wherever I feel like it!]

Level 1
() Smoked A Cigarette
() Smoked A Cigar
() Done Weed
(X) Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex [father, grandfather, visitors from France, etc.]
(X) Drank Alcohol
SO FAR: 2
Read More »I’ve Done 88 Out of 150 Things

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“A Mass of Individuals”

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Purple and white globes of color Deck the foliage green. Fair are the flowers of the alyssum, One of the fairest to be seen. A… Read More »“A Mass of Individuals”