ME AND CALIFORNIA.
Have you seen all those tweets about me and housing and California? Yeah. Well heres the deal. My dad has a SLIGHT chance that he will have to transfer (job positions) and we will be moving to LA. I really hope this doesn’t follow through, but, you know. Thats the first update. I forget what the second was. :\ 
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PANCAKE MACHINE!
Remember the last time you made pancakes? No? Well, let us remind you: it ended in sadness and confusion because you simply couldn’t crank out the insane volume of pancakes you wanted / needed. Well, the ChefStack is here to help. It’s a giant, automated machine with internal rollers, and its entire purpose is to do nothing but make pancakes (roughly 200 per hour). Using pre-filled bags of batter, this dude does all the work while you site by, and apparently it’s also a breeze to clean too, though we find that a bit hard to believe. Now — do you need a machine that makes nothing but pancakes? Are the pancakes any good? Hard to say — but this device, which seems to be targeted at restaurants, will run you about $3,500 if you really want to get your hands on one.
ngdgt
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Megapixels are greatly misunderstood. Megapixels don’t affect picture quality, really, at all. More megapixels mean bigger pictures. That might mean more colors, but in general, Megapixels are only a fraction of a photo. Things that make a photo great are:
- Lighting.
- Location.
- Angle.
- Lens
Lighting is the most important part of the photo, in my opinion. Bad lighting, bad pictures. You could have the best, most expensive camera in the world, with the greatest lens of all time, but if you have bad lighting, your picture won’t turn out well. But when you think of lighting, you think of the sun. Well, that is a light source, but what if it is night? Then you must improvise. Most cameras have flash, so this improv lighting is ready when needed. But don’t have the mindset that “Oh, its too dark, we need flash.” But flash can be ugly and harsh. It, in my opinion, is a terrible source of light. But you don’t have to use flash. This leads us to the next thing, which is location. If the place you are standing is too dark and needs flash, move. Thats it. Moving even a
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The MacBook now deserves to be Pro.
Hello.
Macs are not new to me, I had an original Macbook for three years, and was running Tiger for two years, never upgrading to Leopard. When I got the cash to buy a new computer, It was obvious I would go for the MacBooks. I was done with the Macbook, and knew I wanted a Pro. But the Pro I wanted was $1,700, and I didn’t have that kind of money. So I settled on the 13.3″ MacBook Pro 2.53GHz, 500GB Hard Drive, and 4GB of Memory. Just what I needed. So now I have had the computer for 2 months. And I have some things to say.
The MacBook Pro is simple. And sexy.
Lets Get Physical
The Pro is a fiiiiiine looking machine. Closed it is .95″ thin. Compared to the previous computer I reviewed, a Viao X netbook, the MacBook is anorexic. But in a good way. It looks healthy and modern. Quality wise, the Pro cannot be beat. Look at it. Just look at it! The computer is UNIBODY. Nothing will break this. The aluminum feels great and looks great too. The ports are all on one side, which is very nice and keeps the computer looking uncluttered.
The Pro is small and nice looking from any direction
The MBP 13″ is nearly indistinguishable from it’s 15-inch and 17-inch siblings, but is hundreds of dollars less expensive. That may sting those who coughed up for the pricier machines: there’s little to show they dropped the extra scratch. And it packs most of the other Pro’s most desirable features — the long-lasting battery, the better screen, the backlit keyboard.
The backlit LED keyboard is a fantastic addition. It’s so bright, it lights up like a Christmas tree. On the previous MacBook, I was forever tilting the screen forward to see the keys in the dark. Now the keys are so bright, I can almost see the blood through my fingers.
The illuminated keyboard is more helpful than you'd think.
The Screen
The 13.3″ MacBook’s screen is the thing to focus on. It is practically as bright (and more contrasty) than any of the previous Macs and it looks astounding. It’s LED-driven so it comes to full luminescence immediately and takes up less power. It also has better side-to-side viewing angle as an IPS tech monitor. And here’s the kicker: it has 60% more colors. All these stats are great. They sound great, and they make for a powerful picture. But the actual view of the screen leaves me with a positive but slightly imperfect impression. The default brightness is a bit much, but of course you can turn it down.
The MacBook Pro has a fantastic looking screen. Movies are crisp and nice.
Battery Garbage
Apple is telling you that your MacBook Pro will get 7 hours of battery! Response? Yeah it will, if the freakin’ thing is doing nothing! In my test, the 13-inch MacBook Pro got 3:31 of battery. I used medium brightness, Wi-Fi on, keyboard backlight on low, H.264 movie—and did not get 7 hours. Suprise! But the battery will estimate 9 hours to 10 minutes. That’s a pretty incredible. But with light use (Twittering, watch videos, writing something, music) The computer will get about 5 hours. By the way. I have never successfully gotten 7 hours.
The Battery "7 hours" is crap. But here are some nice lights telling you how much charge is left!
Ports
The new 13″ MacBook Pro offers two USB ports, one mini-DisplayPort, LAN, and the return of FireWire 800. While eSATA is generally the best when it comes to fast external storage, more Mac-targeted Storage devices offer FireWire from the long standing Apple support of the standard. The Macbook Pro also offers a headphone jack and a new SD-card slot, bringing it to the same level that most PC’s have been at for a number of years.
Plenty of Ports on the MBP
Treehugger
The first thing you notice about the MBP 13″ is that the packaging has been reduced to almost nothing. The box is so small; my son asked if it was a mini computer. Gone are the Styrofoam and the separate, fussy boxes for all the components.
Apple has at last started to get its green act together. Apple was a laggard, trailing even hick Texas companies like Dell — but it has done a lot to catch up.
Even though it’s a contradiction in terms, the MBP line is as about as green as it gets (how can modern, mass-produced products ever be “green?”). The machines use about a third of the power of a light bulb, and many of the toxins have been eliminated from manufacturing, Apple says.
Made from aluminum and glass, the MBP 13″ is highly recyclable. Its new, backlit LED-display draws about 30% less power than the previous MacBook’s display, and auto dims in a darkened room. It’s earned the highest EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold rating.
In the box, you get the Computer, Power Adapter and extender, Manuals, and those awesome stickers!
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The Rumors have been flying around for a while now, eh? “9.5 inch touchscreen!” “Apple to have MacBook Touch’s with OLED screen?” “Apple’s Tablet to run iPhone/OS X mashup” “Tablet to come in 2 sizes.” No, No, No, and No! These rumors are silly! Do the people that make them up even Know a THING about Apple? Let me explain. This rumor, This here is a perfect example of dumb thinking. Apple, in the past, has never had a huge line up of products. Meh, Three iPods, a couple of iPhones, a few MacBooks, and some desktops and thats it! If this tablet becomes a reality, Apple is going to make two sizes! Thats ridiculous! NOT COMPLETE
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Its sad to see great things go to waste. A good example of this is the 43 year old Cincinnati house at a giant 23,000 sq ft. I toured the place earlier this year. I found out that the house took more than 10 years to totally build, switching owners three times in that period, and totaled nearly $13,000,000 to build, including the lot, which alone cost $450,000. Orange countertops, wood paneling, and more continued throughout the house, which was the look that was found in nearly every house in the 70’s.
The house has two different styles that don’t flow together at all, because of the three owner’s different tastes. The fireplace in the living room was imported from India, while the fireplace in the bedroom was built in Cincinnati. The house takes on a hideous tudor look that looks outdated and mixed up with the green granite and pale wood flooring that is found in various areas of the home. The kitchen is almost like a large caffateria, and the most noticable thing about the house’s rooms is the size of each. The 13 rooms average a size of 23 x 24, a massive number. The house has a lovely exterior and looks great. The house also features neat secret passage ways.
The house is now for sale for $1,200,000, on 2 acres, or for $3,000,000 with 10 acres. “The house with all 269 acres of land could not even be considered because this house and the 269 acres together would put the sale price to more than $25,000,000, and that is just isn’t possible to sell in this economy. Not to mention, it is obvious the City of Cincinnati doesn’t want to walk away with nothing on this big deal.” Said the realtor for the property. The City of Cincinnati wants to destroy the house and resell the land for more the $32,000,000 to a housing developer, but the current owner feels it is a “piece of history that would be [otherwise] lost” The owner will not update the interior for the same reason. The City and the owner of the house will be going to court in January to determine what should be done with the house and the massive property.
Personally, I feel the house really needs to be stripped down and restored. It could be sold for so much more. But giving the land away to some builder is just crazy.
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THE BRACES GUIDE!
READ IF YOU DON’T HAVE BRACES YET- I think braces are totally OFF-THE-CHAIN. And you should too! But seriously now, they are super cool, and its the teen’s latest accessory for your teeth. Who need grills when you can have these? So hurry up, and go to an orthodontist today and if you need ‘em be happy, for they will save you from looking loser-like.
Some people do get freaky with their braces and stick magnets and stuff to them and they screw up, so don’t do that. Also, when you pick colors, don’t choose yellow, because they make your teeth look nasty and gross and not attractive. When the person tells you the price, try to pass out or something so they feel bad for you and they will lower the price. This worked for my friend Greg.
READ IF YOU HAVE BRACES NOW- Braces are not something to cry about. Braces make you special- not retarded, but different. Don’t try to pull them off because you will only have them on longer! Everyone will think your the “bomb that goes tick tick” with the braces on. But if you got headgear… well, that’s too bad, and I’m not talking about people with headgear, that is not about this group.
Braces might hurt, but pills can take care of that. I heard that there is a pill that can make you braces fall off, its called Wanopean or something. Don’t take because its Chinese, and is loaded with lead. And it will kill you. Just stick to Advil.
If you get depressed about you braces, go to or mom or dad and say something. If they care, they will try to say positive things. So listen to them. Do not let yourself go and not care about your braces and get addicted to those Advils.
READ IF YOU HAD BRACES- Are you happy now? you got the freaks off your teeth! But look what you come home to- beautiful teeth, Did you mind having to get them tightened? You did not! Unless your friends are blind, they will see your nice straight teeth and be so proud of you that you made it through those 2 years, or 3 years, or however many years you had them.
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AM I TOO LATE?
I hear on the radio “Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest today” and I’m sitting there thinking “Well, he’s home now, it was just the hospital part that was the news.” Then follows “he was a father of 3…” and I realize that he is dead because of the past tense.
I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t He is truly a legend and I don’t think there will ever be anyone like him to come. You can’t own anything close to that, you can only watch and learn.
He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy. Say what you want about his personal life — but you don’t know him, never did and never will. His music made him one of the greats and his death (which is unfortunately a media shitstorm at the moment) will remain unbelievable for years to come. RIP MJ.
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TBBTB is now mobile!
I am pleased to announce that my blog, TBBTB (This Blog Belongs To Ben) Is offically gone mobile. You can access the mobile site by going to bit.ly/blogness I have stayed up countless nights dreaming about this day! Here it is, and here we are! The website and designer I used is called mippin and was very great. Check it out! I have meant to make the blog mobile from the beginning, but you know how that goes. But I will be posting loads more and more often so look out!
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Cat Food Makes Me Sick.
Watch this video. Just watch it. Does your face turn sour and confused towards the end? Mine sure did. This is effective marketing, people. But it is also frustrating. The meal that was being prepared looked oh-so-yummy, then they go and RUIN it by making it cat food. The complaint has two parts. One, why does that cat food have to resemble really good food? You never see a baby formula commercial that has a woman dumping sauce all over a steak, and then come out of the kitchen with a bottle of milk! No, you don’t do that. The cat food here is the exact same situation. My second complaint is the amount of food the cat must eat. Spoiled much? Notice the cat does not relish the fact that there is a mound of food, rather they like watching the master prepare it. It just makes me sick.
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Totally Ready for Disaster!
Ready for this? Are you sure!? Can you handle It!? Ohmigawd! So. This is an old trailer for 2012! Disaster, because even then, the mayan calendar ends. But this action packed porno has every possible disaster. Oh snap! Filmmaking is superb, Music made it worth it. Win!
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NEW PATENTS! YAY FOR IPHONE
Totally writing this one on my iPhone. Unwired View uncovered three new iPhone patents that promise to turn everything from calling grandma on her birthday to turning off your phone in a movie theater into gloriously mindless activities.
Scheduled Communications
” A communications device may be programmed to initiate a communications operation when a particular condition is met. The user may set any suitable condition, including for example a date and time, location, event, received or sent communications operation… “
In other words, automatically email grandma on her birthday, or automatically send your wife a text message when you land in another state “I’m sorry honey, I’m seeing someone else…please pack up my clothing neatly and ship it to me.”
Intelligent and Customizable Communication
” The communications system can provide intelligent communications between devices, in which the system can identify appropriate communication modes for incoming communications requests based on a user’s preferences and availability. The communications system can determine whether a user is participating in an activity. In response to determining that a user is participating in an activity, the communications system can automatically identify one or more preferred communication modes that are available to the user .”
In other words, if I’m at the gym (tracked by my location) or running from the cops (tracked by the jostling of my iPhone since my GPS is off), my family and friends can see that I’d prefer text messages instead of calls.
Life Event Based Modes
” One or more event-based modes of operation may be automatically or selectively applied to the device when a new life event is detected…The event-based modes of operation may be used to restrict access to certain applications or functionalities on the device, enforce or restrict certain user interface or other types of settings, and add or remove or rearrange the priority of device assets. The new life events associated with event-based modes of operation may be of various types, including location-based events, environment-based events, calendar-based events, news-based events, and usage-based events .”
In other words, if you walk into a movie theater, your phone could automatically deactivate the ringer and text message notifications, plus it might turn off all push notifications to save some battery life while you weren’t actively using your iPhone. Combined with a patent above, potential callers could even see that since you were at a movie, maybe they should delay the call, wait for you in the theater’s alley and then threaten you, at knife-point, that you never should have taken out a loan you couldn’t pay back just to buy a stupid iPhone.
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