I also noticed they had both the base version of Khet along with the expansion.  After checking prices they seemed on par with most and even a little less than other places so I decided to finally get it.

Khet (Photo credit: nachof)

I also wanted to give some props to the customer service at Vat19.

I have been noticing for the better part of a month that when I get gas and use my debit care I was not able to use it as “credit” because the zip code verification always failed.  I just assumed that it was because the card is incredibly old (expires in about 5 months).

After submitting my order at Vat19 I received and email withing about 5 minutes stating there was a problem with my credit card and they asked for assistance in resolving it.  I went out and checked my account at Wells Fargo and realized that for some odd reason they reverted the address associated with the card to my 4+ year old Nebraska address.  I responded to the email I received from Vat19 explaining the problem, gave them the correct (although still wrong) address and within minutes the owner(!) had responded that the update fixed the issue and my order would be processed and shipped same day.

Shipping the same day is their policy as long as the order is completed prior to 1400 central time.  I was not necessarily expecting it to still go out after the issues even though they were resolved prior to 1400.  Add to that, by luck of where I live, the product is showed up on Friday, roughly 48 hours after I ordered it, through UPS Ground.

While the shipping time is a bonus what really impressed me was the customer service I received.  All too often it’s easy to bitch about bad service.  I know I do it all of the time.  But at the same time I think we should give props when a company does well too.  That rarely happens.  So good job Vat19.  While your products are unusually “kitch” I don’t have any problem recommending your site for anyone in the market for that type of thing.

Related articles

• OMG: Edible 26-Pound Gummy Party Bear (geeksaresexy.net)

No related posts.

As much as I dislike Apple as a company I do tend to like John Gruber and his analysis.  He is an ass like me most of the time which probably helps.  This time though he goes to far.  He points out that some tests with Flash on the Android found that it could stream Flash video (H.264) over WiFi for well over 3 hours.  He then links to the Android specs and comments:

If you think that sounds good, note that the Nexus One is rated for 7 hours of video playback time.

First off, while I don’t like that Apple doesn’t offer flash on the iPhone/iPod, I have no love for it either.  I am not defending Flash here.  However, John is twisting facts and I am pretty sure he knows it.  “7 hours of video playback time” is not equal to “7 hours of streaming internet HD video”.  I would be surprised if, using a non-Flash source like the HTML5 <video> tag, the times would be much if any better.  The drag on the battery due to the WiFi will make the drain attributed to Flash seem very insignificant.

By Gruber’s reasoning then I would like to see him explain why, when the iPod Touch specs say I am supposed to get “up to 30 hours” of music playback time I only get roughly 8 hours in one charge when listening to Pandora.  I will tell you why “jackass”, it’s because of the WiFi.  While I won’t deny that Flash will drain the battery faster than the internal player we can’t blame it (solely) here.

It’s the same reason my wife’s Kindle can run forever with the WiFi disabled but won’t last a day with it on.  No Flash there, just soul sucking, battery draining internet access.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Flash 10.1 might just not be a battery hog on Android (engadget.com)
• Adobe: Flash interest is strong among iPhone and iPod Touch users (seattlepi.com)
• Flash 10.1 Beta 3 Brings Playable HD Flash Video to Even Netbooks With Crappy Graphics [Flash] (gizmodo.com)
• Could Hulu ditch Flash for the iPad? (dvice.com)

Related posts:

1. China whips out the Vorpal Blade of Parenting +5 Man, I just gotta laugh. It seems that China is...
2. The Reg: Commodore challenges Apple digital music dominance According to this article at the Reg. the C= lives!...
3. An Open Letter To Steve Jobs RE: iPad Naming On behalf of Fujitsu (PDF), Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, and Coconut Grove...

I suppose it could be worse.  For those that don’t remember Ivan Drago was Rocky‘s nemesis in Rocky IV.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Jace Hall Show season 3 premiere sees Drago win again (destructoid.com)
• Conan Cameo For Dolph Lundgren? (screenrant.com)
• EXCLUSIVE: Dolph Lundgren Talking To ‘Conan’ Producers About Potential Role (splashpage.mtv.com)

No related posts.

Related posts:

1. Ten Random Tracks From My iPod: 01-25-10 Amazon.com Widgets...

Change your devices name. Not that big of a deal.

Look familiar to you?  It is (except for one word change) exactly the reply Mr. Jobs gave to the developers of iPodRip, now called simply iRip.

I mean come on Steve, it’s “not that big of a deal” right?  Oh what?  You have already done all of the code which mentions iPad?  You already have spent lots of money on marketing with the name iPad?  Well I am sure The Little App Factory didn’t do that at all so maybe this is different?

Related articles by Zemanta

• What’s In A Name? Plenty, If It’s iPad (benzinga.com)
• Fujitsu Claims Ownership of iPad Trademark (shoppingblog.com)
• Japan’s Fujitsu says it made first ‘iPad’ (canada.com)
• Others Claim To Hold The Trademark On iPad. Is There An App For That? (techdirt.com)
• Fujitsu Threatens Apple Over iPad Name (ubergizmo.com)
• iPad Name May Have to Change (lockergnome.com)
• Apple faces legal challenge to iPad name (v3.co.uk)

Related posts:

1. Jackass Of The Week: John Gruber Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr As much as I...

I find it interesting that they make it out to be such a family game.  I can’t imagine ever playing D&D with anyone in my family.  Not that it can’t be done and not that it couldn’t be enjoyable.  I am just speaking of MY family.

If you are into D&D but don’t play anymore (and have nothing better to do) you can check out a podcast of a group including Wil Wheaton, a couple of guys from Penny Arcade, and others here.

Hat tip for the commercial goes to Sociological Images.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Everything I need to know I learned from D&D (makezine.com)
• You Can’t Play Dungeons & Dragons In Prison (Anymore) [D&d] (kotaku.com)

Related posts:

1. China whips out the Vorpal Blade of Parenting +5 Man, I just gotta laugh. It seems that China is...
2. Bored at work? Don’t forget to CockelFight! I manage to get myself into...
3. A few moments to learn, a lifetime to master… While the Baroque rules of chess could only have been...

Related posts:

1. 10 Random Tracks From My iPod: 2-9-2010 Amazon.com Widgets...

The stark, spartan cinematography is excellent.  The acting is on par.  The story is so reminiscent of other works by George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut that I personally feel right at home.  The movie seems to be a perfect melding of Orwell’s 1984 and typical Monty Python fare.  The overwhelming authoritarian flare, the scary starkness of “Big Brother“, the blaze color and architecture.  The absurd dream sequences, insane food, preposterous duct work, the over the top plastic surgery.  In fact, my original plan for naming this blog was “The Ministry of Dis-Information” in homage tothe  antithesis in the movie.

Note that this movie is not for the feint of heart.  It is a long move, over 190 minutes.  If you do not pay attention to the details that Gilliam has presented you will likely find yourself bored to tears in many parts.  Part of the genius of the film is his masterful attention to the details.  Remember, we are all in this together.

If you are looking for a humorous but frightening looks at where our increasingly bureaucratic and information obsessed society is going just fill out your 27b/6 and someone from The Ministry will be with your shortly.  Unless of course you don’t have it noterized, in that case you are in the wrong line and quite possible the wrong ministry all together.

Uncle Jubba’s score: A

No related posts.

Nancy Cartwright Can Eat My Shorts Man!

I can’t for the life of me figure out why she would do such a thing.  So she is a Scientologist.  Big deal.  I can only think of 3 possible scenarios:

1. She did the recording not knowing how it was going to be used.  Ok, fine.  I still don’t think she should have even done the recording but lets just pretend she did it with no knowledge.  I truly hope this is what happened and someone took advantage of her.  I can forgive that.  Make it known and I will recind my Doh!
2. She did know what she was doing and did it without permission of FOX, Matt Groening, et. al.  If this is the case then I hope they sue the shit out of her, fire her, then sue her some more.  If this is the case I refuse to watch the show again until she is no longer a part of it.  The voice of a cartoon is replacable.
3. She did it with permission from FOX, Matt Groening, et. al.  If that is the case then there isn’t much I can hope for.  My days of watching are over.

I don’t know that this is all that big of a deal.  The show has definately been going down hill for some time.  There are moments of past greatness.  The voice acting is still top notch.  I think it is the writing that has been suffering lately.  The movie sucked.  So I won’t be all that heartbroken if I am forced to endure the end of my Simpsons watching career.  I just wish it was happening on a happier note.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bart Simpson Is Spreading The Word Of Scientology! (ithinkheblogs.com)
• Bart Simpson Used As Scientology Tool (jossip.com)
• Bart Simpson Pushes Scientology: ‘Don’t Have A Thetan-Ridden Cow, Man!’ [Scientology] (defamer.com)
• Creepy: Bart Simpson robo-calling for Scientology (inquisitr.com)

Related posts:

1. What to do during Ramadan? DOH! Well, according to the WSJ they have Arabized “The Simpsons”…er…”Al...

The feedback we’ve gotten from readers is that only every

third issue of Mad is funny, so we decided to just publish those.

I haven’t read much of the magazine lately but I do pop into their website now and again.  Spy vs Spy is the best!  Where is my youth going?

No related posts.