LIVEdigitally

While at CES and on a shuttle bus from the Las Vegas Convention Center to the Venetian Hotel, I looked out the window and saw them knocking the windows out of the Stardust Hotel. Naturally, I shot some video…

I’m heading on up to Lake Tahoe for the next few days with the wife and some friends.  While I’ll probably craft a few posts, they (almost definitely) won’t make it online while I’m gone.  We’re well-supplied, and I’ve got my Garmin Nuvi 350 just in case we need to find our way around.  We’ll be back on Wednesday.

And while I’m gone, please enjoy my favorite picture from my Hong Kong trip (yes, I know I owe a little traveler’s tales, but I’m busy!).  This was taken in a factory in China.  It should be obvious what they actually do in the room, but I like to think it’s where they write all the code for eHarmony or Match.com. 

Any other suggestions as to what occurs in there?

Sorry for the lack of posts past few days, been traveling and prepping for the most important day of the year: Thanksgiving 2006, or “the one where Jeremy smokes a whole turkey (and doesn’t get high).”  My beloved wife bought me a BBQ smoker for my birthday this past year, and I’m putting it to work tomorrow for gobble gobble time.I’ve read a few turkey smoking recipes although at the end of the day it comes down to these simple steps:

1. Brine the turkey (I generally go for a very simple brine myself – while I am certain that brining matters, I am uncertain that different brines have a major impact on the flavor) overnight.  I’d prefer a full 24 hours, but since my time machine is still on the fritz, I’m going with about 14.
2. Air-dry the turkey.  Again, this would ideally be almost a full day just resting in the fridge, but it’ll probably be a pat-down and about 2 hours at the most.
3. Rub the turkey.  Don’t be filthy people. I’m going to use roughly the same recipe I do for chickens, which is a spice mix combined with enough olive oil to give a paste-like consistency.  For my devoted readers, I happily provide JT’s Super-Mega-Awesome Chicken Rub Mix freely here:
   1 part Paprika
   1 part Chili powder
   1.5 parts Salt (I like to use both fine and coarse salts)
   1 part freshly ground Black pepper
   1 part cumin
   1 part dried oregano (can be substituted for another dry herb as you’d like)
   1/2 part sugar (or brown sugar)
   1/2 part onion powder
4. Smoke the sucker.  I’m using apple wood chunks.  I’ve read that about 25-35 minutes per pound is appropriate, so our bird should be good in about 5-6 hours.
5. Eat.
6. Drink.
7. Be Merry.
8. Fall asleep.

Click here for pictures from my cousin and I cooking a 25-pound bird a few years ago. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

This is a few years old, but makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. Watch and enjoy.

Last week I saw and reviewed Borat, and mused on which scenes were real or staged.  Turns out this is a fairly popular topic out there, and I’ve got a few quick updates:

• Pam Anderson scene: Probably staged (although not definitive).
• The prostitute: staged and is a known actress.
• Frat boys: real, and they are suing.  Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, boys.
• Rodeo scene: frighteningly real.  This article (from Salon) has a ton of in-depth commentary on the “is Borat staged?” topic, and was a great read.
• Dinner party. real, chock full o Southern hospitality, ‘Bama-style.
• Etiquette lesson. real, although apparently the teacher had her doubts.

Incidentally, for the least useful source of material on the topic, head on over to Yahoo! Answers.

Did all my research.  Walked less than three blocks.  Filled out the way-too-confusing ballot.  Done.Your turn.

PS – don’t forget the Polling Place project (two pix) and if you have a video-enabled phone, Veek your Vote!

Tomorrow, I’ll go to my local balloting place which is conveniently located 2 blocks from my apartment.  I’ll walk there with the “prep” ballot I’ve already put together, which I’ll carry mostly due to an increasingly poor short term memory (yes on 87).  And there I’ll likely meander through lines, fill out some form incorrectly, then eventually find a place to fill out my ballot.  I have a lot of confidence that I won’t accidentally follow the wrong dotted line, and I predict no hanging chads.

But that’s just our civic responsibility.  That’s what we’re supposed to do.  David Cohn over at NewAssignment (a new web site dedicated to citizen journalism) put together a list of how we can go above and beyond our basic responsibilities, and actually participate in the process.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

• Video The Vote is an organized effort, using camera phones and video, to cover any mishaps voters encounter this Tuesday.
• The The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism to capture, post and share photographs of democracy in action by documenting the local voting experience. NewAssignment.Net consulted on the project.
• Along with independent live blogging networks news organizations like the BBC, CNN and others are relying on citizen journalists to get full coverage of this years election. They can’t be everywhere, but we already are.

I’m bringing along my digital camera, and I look forward to doing my job as a citizen.  For newer readers, I only became a US citizen earlier this year, and I’m glad to have my chance to fulfill the commitment I made.  I hope you do as well.

Take a look at David’s list – it’s even in an easy-to-consume “Top 9″ format!

UPDATE: if you are one of the, say 95% of the mobile phone owners in this country whose phone is capable of storing or sharing video, take a look at the “Veek the Vote” service.  Read the comments below by Kemble and Rodger for more info, or skip that and just go check out the site.  Just be sure to vote tomorrow!

I was reading Brad Feld’s blog today and saw his post with a photo from La Guardia airport.  I am stunned at the amazingly poor state of things with regards to flight and TSA policies.  I am more stunned that it seems to be status quo, and not changing for the better.  On Saturday Night Live last month, there was a great skit wherein they portrayed a TSA training session.  When presented with rules such as “no liquids over 3oz” a trainee asked the (obvious) question, “what if two people get together with 3oz each?  Is 6oz dangerous?”

When the liquid ban came into effect a couple of months ago, I was on a trip to Europe.  I flew home via Stockholm airport, where they told me to put all my carry-ons in a clear plastic bag, otherwise they’d get confiscated in Frankfurt en route to the USA.  Sure enough, I was the only guy walking around Frankfurt with a huge baggie full of my personal effects.

However on virtually every trip I have taken since that flight, my carryon bag contained multiple containers with liquids or gels (yes, I admit to grabbing shampoos from hotels, but only one per stay).  My secret?  Well, I’ve mastered the security system.  Here’s what I do: when asked “got liquid?” I respond “no” and move along.  Try it out, it works pretty well.

Last week, as my wife and I entered security in SFO and we placed our bags on the security belt, to my extreme chagrin she separated her makeup bag.  Big no-no, but I couldn’t stop her in time.  Sure enough, the TSA employee picked up the bag, and went through it.  She found some makeup and lotion, and gave her three options: check it (nope), put it in a Ziploc bag (huh?), or chuck it out (gee, thanks).

I tried reason.  I tried logic.  To no avail.  I politely (then again, slightly less politely) asked how the TSA could operate such a policy without providing a reasonable solution.  Her oft-repeated answer: “all this information is available on our Web site” (not the official link).  I must say, I felt quite a bit like Arthur Dent (the only hint for such a reference is it involves a bulldozer, the rest, dear reader, is up to you).

Kudos to Wal-Mart, US Airways, and whatever supervisor at La Guardia who did not actively prevent such a common sense solution to a stupid, self-imposed problem.  Although I must say, knowing that mascara and facial cream can only be carried aboard a triple-7 inside a see-through Ziploc bag makes me feel safe, and I can only imagine it really drives fear into the hearts and minds of the terrorists.

I’m voting in the USA for the first time in my life this Tuesday, but it appears my ballot (yes on 87) doesn’t have any option to vote out such incompetence.  Ah well, maybe in ’08.

Along with about 10 million college kids, I saw Borat tonight with some friends.  Despite trying to buy tickets on the Interwebs in the middle of the day, the best we could do was the 9:55 show in Daly City!  Here’s my spoiler-free review:

What is the movie?
It’s funny.  Laugh-out-loud funny.  Kinda almost nauseating funny.  Occasionally very squeamish funny.  A wee bit disturbing/disgusting funny. Often uncomfortably funny.  Completely politically incorrect funny.  Overall, it’s just plain funny. 

What isn’t the movie?
Clever, witty, deep, sensitive, brilliant, hysterical, thoughtful, or hygienic (according to IMDB, “The suit Sacha Baron Cohen wears when playing Borat has deliberately never been cleaned.”). 

But it might just have you fall out of your seat laughing.  If you just want to have a good time, and you can deal with 90-odd minutes of silly, then go see it.  It’s just that simple.

Mini-spoilers follow from this point (nothing to ruin a scene, but I will mention some scenes by name/location).

(more…)

Well, I’m no Thomas Hawk or anything, but I thought I did a decent job with a few pics…

Walking down the street, women standing on the corner handing out little pamphlets about free translation services, then giving a little fortune cookie.  Only thing is… it’s blue:

Now I don’t know whose marketing campaign this is from, but as a word of advice to others considering this route: “stop!”  In fact, if I were to create a Top 10 list of giveaway advice, I think number one on the list would sound a little something like “avoid making giveaways of food that looks rotten, moldy and/or gangrenous.”

That’s a freebie.

Back when I was old enough to start watching TV (watching, as in, non-animated stuff), there was this show Saturday Night Live.  And my parents used to watch it, and it was good.  But when I came of age, with the exception of a single episode, it was fairly, well, poor.  In fact, it wasn’t until the end of high school that the show finally became bearable again, and it may have even hit a second peak whilst I was in college (ooh, whilst!). That said, it doesn’t really seem to matter whether the show has a “good” year or a bad year – somewhere deep down inside we all want Saturday Night Live to excel.  We yearn for its funny (yup, I’m using funny as an adverb).  In fact, we seem to want it so bad that this year we’ve seen the arrival of two new shows (both of which have titles with numbers, and both numbers are multipliers of 30, by the way) on the topic.

So when a friend of mine told me during dinner that he was going to take myself and Steven Jones (from Techlore, SlingCommunity, and the International Owen Wilson Fan Club, or IOWFC for short) on a quick walkthrough of NBC studios, and we walked onto the illustrious set of SNL, I was thrilled. 

The set itself was much smaller in person than I expected, and I have a newfound respect for all the people behind the scenes who pull off the show each week.  I haven’t gotten to watch a shooting or anything, but it seems like it’s quite a logistical nightmare to rotate everything through such a small area.  But then again, I don’t really know the first thing about producing a TV show, so who am I to talk?

I also got a little peak at some of the other sets and newsrooms (got a great pic of the 21st century newsroom, but am not sure if I can put it online or not, so I’ll take the safe approach), and it was a pretty cool little romp through NBC!  Thanks, friend (you know who you are, and I’ll leave the name out just in case it matters)!