Disqus - Latest Comments for LD

Re: Tommy Wonder’s Act For Sale On eBay

LD — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:08:01 -0000

I wish this were bought by a serious collector and not sold on eBay. This kind of history is important to our art.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Samsung’s 16GB [That's actually "Gb" -Ed] Memory Chip

LD — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 17:34:14 -0000

Uh, guys, this is what is in the iPod nano...2 of them for 4GB.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Zaphod, Multiple Clipboards For All Of Windows

LD — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 12:45:31 -0000

There is nothing I hate more in Windows than the Office clipboard. I certainly don't want to bring that frustration to other applications.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » The Wind-Turbine Cellphone-Charging Taxicab

LD — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 14:28:55 -0000

Why not just use the damn battery on board? I agree that the drag created would use more energy than if they simply plugged into the already available power onboard.

It's like sticking a wind generator on a diesel generator...what's the point?

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Airing Dirty Laundry: Engadget’s Exclusionist Tactics Are NOT An Isolated Incident

LD — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:40:12 -0000

Perform a search for "OhGizmo" on Engadget and on Gizmodo. Engadget has a single link while Gizmodo has several. I don't think that's coincidence. Weblogs, Inc is full of a bunch of jackasses. Not all of them, but as a whole the company sucks.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Airing Dirty Laundry: Engadget’s Exclusionist Tactics Are NOT An Isolated Incident

LD — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:54:10 -0000

Vinny, you're an idiot.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Airing Dirty Laundry: Engadget’s Exclusionist Tactics Are NOT An Isolated Incident

LD — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 10:26:32 -0000

Victor, personally I am willing to accept that Engadget screws up. But if that's the case then they certainly screw up a lot and quite often in regards to the same sites. So I guess it's either intentional or incompetence.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Smarthome Curved Shower Curtain Rod

LD — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:46:49 -0000

"most roomiest"?

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » U3 USB Stick Technology

LD — Tue, 30 May 2006 18:04:11 -0000

I HATE U3. It's so incredibly annoying. Luckily I found a nice way to remove it, a tool from the GeekSquad.

Not impressive in the least. It's an invasive way to do something that others are doing better. http://portableapps.com/

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Phantom Park - Park Your Car Under The Garage

LD — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:48:23 -0000

This doesn't make a single car garage a dual car garage. It makes a dual car garage a dual car garage.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Porsche 917 Inspired Sofa

LD — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 09:57:43 -0000

Nice, but not so unique.

http://www.corbin.com/furniture/

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Zamzar, Convert Anything To Anything, Online, For Free

LD — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:30:14 -0000

It doesn't do rtf even. And it's slow as shit. I uploaded a 1 page pdf and waited several hours before calling it a night and going to sleep. It took several hours to convert a simople 1 page pdf to a png and the quality was absolutely horrible.

Also, it can't even do rtf. No rtf? WTF?

Neat idea, needs a LOT of work.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » The JackPC, A PC You Can Embed In Your Wall

LD — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:55:06 -0000

Thin clients can catch a virus, it will just exist on the terminal server. Also, thin clients don't "process data". That's why they are "thin". They just present the data, the server does all the heavy lifting.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » DLO PowerBug Charger For iPod Shuffle

LD — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:59:18 -0000

Well, I'm not sure it's been described as an "upgrade" just an "update". Besides, they did "upgrade" the Shuffle by including the new headphones.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Today’s Top Tech: Cisco Tries To Stick It To Apple With Full-Page Ad In NYT

LD — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 08:04:53 -0000

Cisco doesn't own Netgear, it owns Linksys. And it bought Linksys in 2003, not 2000. And iPhone was not acquired in that purchase. It was a purchase of a different company. That's only the first half of the first paragraph. I stopped reading after that.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Air Powered Cars Are Too Good To Be True

LD — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:18:02 -0000

Looks like you've just stumbled upon the reason hydrogen cars are bullshit too. You have to create, transport, and store the hydrogen to use it. There is an extreme amount of energy loss and that energy has to come from somewhere, most likely fossil fuels.

Electric cars have the most direct source of energy and the least loss. That's the way things need to go IMHO. Anything else is a storage medium and therefore a loss. Augment electric cars with solar panels on your house and you can provide some, if not all, of your own energy using just the Sun.

Amazing, huh? Seems a little too simple, that's why it's slow to take off.

Re: Blaine Postpones Sleep Deprivation Stunt Until Late Summer

LD — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:21:18 -0000

It's "lose" not "loose."

I hate that.

Re: Mindfreak Relapse: Building Implosion Wrap-Up

LD — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:58:30 -0000

It was one of the worst episodes yet. They are getting worse all the time. It's all set up, stooges, and camera tricks with lots of video editing.

I can make lots of things happen if reality doesn't constrain me. That's all Criss does.

I do like his style and his original show. I think his live performances are very original and theatrical, something a lot of magicians can't do. But Mindfreak has grown old and silly.

Re: Mindfreak Relapse: Building Implosion Wrap-Up

LD — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:14:42 -0000

Why is not enjoying this stunt or his show "hating" on him? That's ridiculous, childish, and ignorant. Grow up.

It's very possible to discuss Angel in a serious matter, to deconstruct his show or stunts, to talk about what we liked or didn't like.

There are a lot of different styles of magic because there are a lot of different styles of magicians. If everyone agreed on how to entertain there wouldn't be stage, parlour, closeup, mentalism, cards, coins, grand illusion, etc, etc, etc. There would simply be "magic".

We know that not to be true. We know people disagree or at least have a personal preference. That said, it's still possible to discuss the relative benefits and drawbacks of each as well as the relative quality of each.

In his TV show, Criss sucks IMHO. It's mainly setup, canned, edited, and not "real". I know he's a fantastic magician live and a great performer. To me, his show is a disappointment anymore. I can just as easily rig a video shoot like he did here. It's not impressive.

Re: Angel Releases Statement About Nail Gun Demonstration

LD — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:15:49 -0000

His hand really got nailed, just like a steamroller really rolled over him and an Escalade really rolled over him...

Did people really think it was real?

OMG! I hope he's ok! I can haz injury?

Re: The Lost Penn Jillette Film…

LD — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:33:53 -0000

how about looking at IMDB?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128305/

The movie "Life Sold Separately" (1997) is about four strangers who meet in a field for different reasons, but for the same purpose: to escape each one's respective life. How they are to escape their world is the key to the film.

Re: theory11 - smoke&mirrors

LD — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:23:18 -0000

Nice cards to be certain, but I would never use them, preferring to use something spectators are familiar with, Bicycles.

Re: When does Magic and Flourishes Meet ?

LD — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:49:13 -0000

It really just depends on the type of performer and character you've created. Magic isn't one "thing." It's whoever the performer is. Penn, for example, is a juggler as well as a magician and he mixes that into the show. Flourishes are like juggling. They show a certain type of skill. There's no reason it can't be mixed with magic in the course of a routine.

It's entirely dependent on style, character, and what you want to portray. For me, I'd rather stay away from flourishes. I try to use everyday objects to show I have some real magical ability. That's ruined if I can suddenly do some amazing flourish.

But, there have been times that I've wanted to perform a poker routine. In that context it makes perfect sense that I come across as a master manipulator of cards. Flourishes would only add to that.

Context. It's all about context.

Re: Supernatural Will Feature Magic-centric Mystery, With Catty Title

LD — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:41:50 -0000

Well at least that's a proper description!

HAHA, great title, and so true. Angel has become a caricature, his own doing.

Re: Old Picture With Siegfried, Roy, Jolie, Voight Surfaces

LD — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:56:27 -0000

It's also got Jolie's brother James Haven on the right and husband at the time (and Hacker co-star) Jonny Lee Miller on the left.

Re: Criss Angel Sued For Alleged Unpaid Royalties

LD — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:52:25 -0000

I feel bad for the guy, but he probably won't win. You see, this is common practice in the video/film industry. He signed on for 25% of the "profits". However, it becomes very easy to bury the profits as costs. Sometimes it's even legit.

Think about it. $267,000 in gross sales. Take out of that the cost of production, cost of paying Criss Angel, cost of advertising, costs of this, that, and the other thing. It's very reasonable to assume it made only $104,000 profit. That would be a great profit margin if it did. 25% of that is his $26,000.

Re: Richard Wiseman’s Vanishing Head Illusion

LD — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:37:09 -0000

Um, I don't get it. Is it a joke? Because his head never disappeared.

Re: Richard Wiseman’s Vanishing Head Illusion

LD — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:42:03 -0000

Yeah, thanks, I'm not an idiot and did follow the instructions. It doesn't work for me.

Re: 6 year old magician charms at Norway’s Got Talent

LD — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:56:04 -0000

That kid is seriously awesome. No joke, it was very entertaining to watch. He has more stage presence than many of the magicians on Masters of Illusion!

Re: Police: Shot Fired At Pendragon’s Home, Jonathan Arrested

LD — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:57:57 -0000

Perhaps it was a bullet catch practice...

Re: Japanese Tofu Magic

LD — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:37:42 -0000

Uh...what's the effect? That he could spin a top on some tofu?

Re: Marco Tempest’s New Multi-Video iPhone App

LD — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:35:38 -0000

That is freaking cool. I can see a lot of uses for something like that.

Re: boxee blog » a boxee box?

LD — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:40:08 -0000

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Boxee can be great, but will always be relegated to "geeks" unless it has a delivery platform. Simple and cheap is the way to go. People (not the geeks here) don't want a million things in one box. They want a box that is simple, easy to use, and cheap. Skip the DVR, no one cares outside of some in this group. Skip the Blu-ray unless embedded in some other manufacturer's player as Netflix has done.

Look at the Roku (also, examine the platform they use). That's what people want. Don't make Boxee be all things to all people because it will suck, quite frankly. Make it do a few things really well. In particular, bring Internet video services to the TV. That's it. Keep it simple. A method to stream (not store) local media would also be good and not detract. But DVR, BR, Tuners, etc are just worthless features once you give everyone access to the world's largest DVR and high quality movie archive, the Internet.

Re: boxee blog » a boxee box?

LD — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:05:43 -0000

I do agree, you have to have a method to play home media. I do think storing it internally is silly though, and would add cost. Either a way to stream or connect an external USB drive should be included.

Re: boxee blog » boxee in a box: survey results

LD — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:30:01 -0000

PS3 can run Boxee via Linux with no help from Sony.

Re: boxee blog » boxee in a box: survey results

LD — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:40:23 -0000

Why wouldn't you think so? It's PPC, which would have to be developed, but that doesn't require Sony's help. There are several Linux distros that work on the PS3. Not sure why you'd think it wouldn't work. Boxee developers often seem stuck in a box. The social media center concept was thinking outside the box, but it seems many other things are stuck inside a tiny little box with no creative problem solving.

Re: the Hulu situation

LD — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:52:30 -0000

I just don't understand why it makes any bit of difference if I watch in Boxee, Safari, Firefox, IE, or a computer attached to a big screen or small screen. So long as there is no circumvention of the ads (there isn't) then why does it make any difference whatsoever? Short sighted, white top, ignorant people running these companies.

Re: Cameron Tries to go Green Online

LD — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:15:31 -0000

So the guy tries to be green and environmentally aware and you rag on him? Get over yourselves and your politics. Being environmentally conscious isn't a political party/philosophy issue.

--

editor note: We didn't cause his troubles, we're only reporting on them. We appreciate his effort, and if he does something that really impresses us, we'll be sure to mention it too.

Re: Kohl's Converting Californian Stores To Solar Power

LD — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:17:17 -0000

Why must we legislate this, Matt Damon?

Why must you use the gov't to effect change? Would you like it if the gov't told you what to do? What if they told you that you couldn't say certain things or post on blogs?

Re: Everything's Cool: A Real Life Disaster Movie

LD — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:07:36 -0000

The end of the world is nigh!

FEAR! FEAR! FEAR!

Re: Now More Than a Million Toyota Hybrids

LD — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:02:52 -0000

Can't wait until all those batteries end up in landfills!

--

editor note: sometimes I think carmakers who have hybrids should do TV ads just about batteries..

Check this out.

Re: Gas Atlas: Travel Tax or Subsidy Max?

LD — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:31:51 -0000

"which makes Norway's commitment to taxing gas consumers into efficiency seem especially admirable"

Are you serious? You like the gov't dictating and controlling behavior? You think it's admirable they force people to behave in a certain way?

What if the gov't didn't like your blog? Would you be ok with an outrageous tax that limits your personal choice and speech?

Re: Gas Atlas: Travel Tax or Subsidy Max?

LD — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:02:48 -0000

It's gov't control of personal choice plain and simple. The gov't in controlling behavior and the author of this post and all of you commenters are 100% behind it.

Kind of sad, really. Socialism at its finest!

Re: US Car Manufacturers Say Efficiency is Too Expensive

LD — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:38:12 -0000

How about they change their way of thinking entirely and develop all electric cars? Hybrids are an annoying bump in the road and a boondoggle.

Re: Study Says 13 Million Deaths a Year Could Be Prevented

LD — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:12:50 -0000

Wouldn't this just contribute to overpopulation, yet another "problem" this site likes to complain about?

Everything sucks!

Re: Will Mankind Be Extinct In Four Years If We Lose Our Honeybees?

LD — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:02:34 -0000

How sad a life it must be to always think the world is coming to an end imminently.

Re: Encyclopedia of Earth: Like Wikipedia, for the Environment

LD — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:42:39 -0000

Will it be balanced and include the large amount of information that doesn't support man-made climate change or , in fact, has evidence proving otherwise?

As long as it's balanced and all-inclusive instead of selective I would support it.

Re: On The Hit Parade Of C02 Emissions, China Cements Its Number One Position

LD — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:29:41 -0000

That's right, it's all the EVIIIIIL US. Always. Hate America first! The liberal war cry.

=== author's response follows ===

Actually being somewhat lib myself, I'm impartial to John Lennon's edict "love is all there is."

In spirit I have some agreement with you, in that I want to be as circumspect as possible before I resort to anger. Tends to have a calming effect and make life better.

Re: San Francisco Mayor Bans the Bottle

LD — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:14 -0000

"These people are making huge amounts of money selling God’s natural resources. "

Ah, we see the REAL reason he's upset. He's anti-capitalism. A typical socialist liberal point of view.

Re: Bought a Prius for Environmental Reasons? The New York Times Needs Your Help

LD — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:55:45 -0000

Well, if you don't have a story, make one up! It's the NYT way!

*cough* Jayson Blair *cough*

Re: The New Climate Poll Numbers Are In From Pew

LD — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:02:27 -0000

Always remember, hate America first™

I think all this poll proves is how the media works. People are mindless sheep who believe what they see on the news. This poll confirms that popular culture, and indeed the news media, are simply focusing more on global warming.

Re: It's Canada Day. Let's Lose the Fireworks!

LD — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:49:59 -0000

I prefer to call them climevangelists.

Re: Sued for Being Sustainable

LD — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:18:27 -0000

I would htink he'd have a heft lawsuit against the city if he lost use of the windmill. He invested significant money into installing it after going through all the proper channels. He also stands to lose a significant amount due to increased energy costs. This is a real cost the city is forcing him to take on. Further, he is being forced to defend himself due to an error made by the city.

He is in no way at fault and should not have to suffer financially as a result. He followed the rules, went through the proper channels, got the permits. It's the city that should be sued, not him.

Re: Smart Metering - Utilities Net-Linked To Your Home Thermostat

LD — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:20:29 -0000

This is such a ridiculous idea.

Socialist/communist sheep want the gov't to control people's lives through legislating personal choice away.

Grow some balls. Don't you believe in freedom?

Re: The Magic Newswire - Magic News - PAUL DANIELS VS BLACKPOOL

LD — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:10:35 -0000

Are these planners adults or children? I wouldn't attend Lever's convention based on his comments alone as I wouldn't want to be associated with his childish comments.

It seems all parties involved really need to grow up. I don't care if they don't like each other, there's no need to make childish comments publicly. Is that how Lever wants to be remembered? As the guy who openly insults others like a year old?

Re: Behind The Scenes On Brain Melting Chop Cup Video

LD — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:26:10 -0000

Seems like a lot of work for something that simply looked like CG from start to finish.

Re: Too Close? Marco Tempest Confronts Twins About Similar Routines

LD — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:10:18 -0000

Blatant rip-off of Tempest. Marco is a true original thinker in the world of magic. He comes up with interesting new concepts, taking advantage of technology whenever possible. I haven't see too many magicians who think that uniquely anymore.

The two routines from the Twins in that video are blatant rip-offs. It's not even using the same or similar method to produce a new trick. Or something that could reasonably be said to be independent creation of a similar effect. It's exactly the same. I think they even used the same large pencil prop!

The popularity of Marco's phone camera series of videos makes it unbelievable that the Twins hadn't seen or heard of them.