Learn to drive...everyone!

This month, the AARP (yes, the old people Senior Citizen's group) is offering an online driving course for only $5!  Before you ignore this, keep in mind that in many states, passing an state-approved online driving course REQUIRES that your insurance company gives you a discount.  This is an investment that will absolutely pay for itself.

What states offer discounts?

Sign up for the course

State of the Internet, 2013 edition

Yup, that about sums it up.

Boing Boing - YOU are a computer CRIMINAL!

Illegally downloading? No problem...upgrade to Business Class!

So, we're going ahead and tiering the Internet anyway?  Or should we just call this extortion and be done with it?

Are Technica - “Six strikes” boss insists new system won’t harm public Wi-Fi

Netflix Unlocked this weekend on Xbox

Woot!

Access to the Netflix app is unlocked this weekend on Xbox! Watch every episode of the new Netflix original series "House of Cards" premiering Feb. 1. Xbox will unlock the Netflix app, so all LIVE users with a Netflix subscription can watch all weekend long. (All Netflix regions)

Desert to Sea: Three AAA Steam Games for $10!

Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and Spec Ops: The Line

I'm looking forward to Spec Ops.  Not because I hear it's a great game technically, but more for the story.  Extra Credits did a great piece on storytelling and used Spec Ops as an example.  Don't watch it before you play unless you like spoilers!

Extra Credits Season 5, Episode 1 - Spec Ops: The Line (Part 1)

Disney Animation is Back!

Sounds of My Youth

My kids will never understand the joy this sound brings...

Copyright infringement costs the same as a speeding ticket...in New Zealand

I'm starting to like New Zealand.  The government there seems to be staffed by people with working brains. First, the block a completely unfair extradition of Kim Dotcom.  Now, they are skirting the edges of lunacy by making the punishment fit the crime.

You can read more about it here, but the git is that a defendant was convicted of downloading 3 songs illegally.  Instead of super inflated loss claims requested by RIANZ (the New Zealand equivalent of the RIAA), the tribunal awarded NZ$617.  The award was broken up like this, the current price of the tracks via iTunes x 2 (about $5 US), a "deterrent fee" of about $360, and the rest in filling fees.  I'm sure it hurt the defendant to the point where they will not pirate anything again (for at least awhile), but the point is that justice was served.

I think piracy is wrong but as long as the RIAA / MPAA go after individuals for millions in "losses," while turning a blind eye to Chinese operations that churn out DVD's and CD's by the boatload, I've no sympathy for them.

In other news....EAS not dead!!

It looks like Google is extending EAS support for Gmail / GCalendar until July.  For those of you staring blankly at the screen - Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) is what has powered my iOS contacts, calendar, and mail until last month when Google decided to kill support.

EAS was simple, fast, and strong.  Integrating iOS with the "new and improved" Google way is complicated to setup, slow to sync, and breaks in spotty data coverage situations.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, Windows Phone does not currently support CardDAV and CalDAV - the new way Google syncs contacts and calendar data.  Microsoft complained and Google has agreed long enough to allow Microsoft to get their act together.

My take is this.  Keep EAS.  DAV may be the open-source, free as in beer way of the future but it's currently broken.  I can either wait for my iPad to sync calendar data through CalDAV, a process that can take several minutes, or just use a 3rd party calendar app that does not support push.  Neither is great.  EAS  pushed email, events, and people to my device effortlessly.

Hopefully, Google will see the error of their ways and bring EAS back permanently.

More info can be found here and here.

RIM changes its name to BlackBerry, launches BlackBerry 10

I hope they make it.  I really do.  Competition is a good thing, and any feature or process BB brings to the table that is a hit will invariably make it into iOS and Android sooner or later.

Read the full article here.

You should be getting this stuff for them anyway - I'm just trying to make it cheaper...

Chocolates, flowers, and teddy bears...oh my!  If you're buying into the whole Valentines Day thing, why not click here.  I've got all that stuff.

Got Science? Get a free sticker!

What do you know about global warming? Can you tell FACT from SCIENCE FICTION? Want a free "Got Science?" sticker?

Take the true or false quiz that pits your knowledge of global warming against public officials, media personalities, and political hacks. See if you can tell who's "Got Science" versus who's spreading propaganda that's "Not Science" about global warming. http://www.gotsci.org/?s_src=gotsci2taf

Get a free "Got Science?" sticker -- no matter how well you do on the quiz. I did!

It's by the Union of Concerned Scientists, so you know it's the real deal. Check it out: http://www.gotsci.org/?s_src=gotsci2taf

Good luck on the quiz!

Reboot

Hey there!  It's been awhile...how are you?  I've been OK.  There's been some ups and downs since we last spoke.  I'll be posting some interesting things here from now on.  Not everyday, mind you, but often.  The doctors say it's beneficial to get my thoughts out of my head.  Just kidding! :)