October 11, 2007 by hr.

Here is the glorious Myspace birthday greeting I just sent to a friend who’s lucky day is October 15:

"The fact that your listed birthday falls on a tax filing deadline should mean something but it doesn’t.  To be honest, that’s really sad.  Um, yeah, happy upcoming birthday and stuff.  I take that back, I think you put down a fake myspace birthday.  In that case, go sit on it!"

I’m just happy I can have a positive effect on he youth of America.

F. Tuxedo

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 8, 2007 by hr.

On Saturday I was chilling at Sam’s in Tiburon with B. Moore and Sloopy when who walks in at 12 o’clock?  Why it’s the best relief pitcher of all time: Dennis Eckersley.  Let me say this, the D-Eck’s got it going on!  He looks healthy, know’s where the party is at, and rolls with some choice ladies.  To prove my point, I took a horrible picture from my camera phone.  Not only did I prove the Eck is Mr. Clutch, I also displayed why camera phone’s are really weak.

F. Tuxedo

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 8, 2007 by hr.

A recent Web 2.0 term is Fanboy.  For those not in the know or who do not drink fine cherry wine, Fanboy refers to a blogger who’s heavy into one product, technology, or company.  Today, the web is full of bloggers who live, breathe, and spew nothing but iPod, Pocket PC, DVR, or cell phone news….just to name a few.

In terms of community, the iPod or Apple fanboys are by far the largest.  Whether he knew it or not (I think he did), the way Steve Jobs handles the media and Apple news has bread this culture.  For Apple, they are tight lipped 90% of the year.  Then, 2-3 times a year, they send out some cryptic note and rent out Mascone Hall to drop some products on the Apple community.  Due to this feast and famine, Apple die hards are forced to speculate and dig up news on each possible product release.  These guys are at it 24/7, thus becoming fanboys.

In general, the term fanboy is a deliciously feminine term and there’s nothing wrong with it.  The only downside is when you get a community of fanboys in a tizzy or spat.  It’s just as bad as getting a group of women ins a tizzy (Hey-Oh!)  This is commonly caused by news from a competing product, company, or technology.  If you are shooting a bullet into a pond the biggest pond and source of anger for fanboys is Microsoft.  Even Microsoft fanboys hate Microsoft.  So it makes perfect sense that the Apple/iPod fanboys are united in their hate against Microsoft’s release of the new Zunes.

Now just so you know, if I was a fanboy I guess I would lean towards Microsoft.  With that said, I will give props to Google, Apple, and other technologies.  How’s that for fanboy etiquette? 

With all of that out of the way, there are some good and definite Ho-Hum’s about the new Zunes.  First the Ho-Hum: the new Zunes do not break any rules in terms of design or pricing.  Essentially, the Flash Zune looks like the 2nd generation iPod Nano but with a larger screen.  Same goes for the 80GB Zune, which essentially mirrors the iPod Classic but with a larger screen.  The one area where I was hoping Microsoft would make a statement is on price.  Regardless of features, the iPod and competing Zunes have the same sticker price.  Weak.

Now for the good, and there is a lot of good to go around.  Both models have Wi-Fi that is somewhat functional.  With the iPod, only the iPod Touch and iPhone have Wi-Fi and neither will let you sync your collection over your home Wi-Fi like the Zune will.  Some Apple fanboys will cry "well, you can purchased music from the Wi-Fi music store."  Apple fanboys, how often do you really stop into Starbucks and pick-up the latest Paul McCarthy download (www.paulmcCarthysucks.org)?  A RSS reader or browser would be a cool add-on thought.

The Zune has an integrated FM radio.  Then again, who the fuck cares? 

Probably the best Zune feature is the long over due integration with Windows Media Center.  Why this was left out of the original Zune is beyond me.  For those who have Windows Media Center with a TV Tuner, you know it is pound for pound the best DVR. I would say it is better then TiVo.  The fact you can now sync your taped content with the Zune means the large screen is actually usable and is a killer feature for many Microsoft fanboys!

Given all of the benefits and similarities, I might just buy a Zune.  The only two stumbling blocks will be battery life and to prove that all of these features actually do work.  For any of you who have purchased a Sansa, Creative Labs, Toshiba, or Samsung MP3 player in the past know that those are two big hurdles.  By the way, due to previous experiences, I am not a Sansa, Creative Labs, Toshiba, or Samsung fanboy.

F. Tuxedo

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 8, 2007 by hr.

You never think it can happen to you and then boom, it’s there.  Old lady in front of me on the bus has serious B.O.  Sorry guys, this isn’t MUNI or the little Tijuana Express; this is a commuter bus.  Freaking narley.

F. Tuxedo

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 1, 2007 by hr.

I fell funny saying this so don’t post it on the Internet somewhere, but I’m starting to enjoy the IJ.  My goodness, it’s all about Marin (at least that’s what they say).  Even if it’s all about Marin that still isn’t a reason why I’m digging it these days.  Instead, I’ve been hooked because of columnist Disk Spotswood. 

Dick’s one of those guys who has been around a place long enough to know what’s going on and how things went wrong in the past.  Where this shines is talking about local political issues like school bonds, transportation, and fiscal responsibility.  If you get a chance, pick-up a copy of the IJ and go to the Op-Ed section.  You can also checkout D-Spot online:

http://www.marinij.com/spotswood

F. Tuxedo

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »