It is rare a commercial gets my attention. After all, I DVR most of the shows I watch and typically rip past commercials. However, for some reason, this Directv commercial caught my eye. Every time I see it, I burst out laughing and I’m left wanting my own, tiny giraffe! The guy’s reaction is too good! Well done, Directv. Excellent marketing team responsible for dis. I has it,...

This afternoon I returned my day-one iPhone 4 to the Apple Store. I’ve just had enough. You see, I’m a fan of the iPhone. I love the intuitive interface, the clean lines, and the system. I’m not a fan of calls going directly to voicemail, hit and miss reception on 3G, and the numerous dropped calls. I assumed this issues would be resolved with the iPhone 4. I was decidedly wrong. If anything, the frequency of problems has increased to an annoying degree. My bottom line: The iPhone 4 isn’t worth getting married to AT&T for another two years. No chance. So, I’m currently...

In an effort to stop the slow downward spiral of both Apple’s stock and the iPhone 4′s reputation, today, Apple announced it will offer free bumpers to iPhone 4 owners. The bumper is supposed to alleviate the now infamous antenna issue plaguing the new device. However, this particular tactical counter-measure isn’t what caught my attention — it is the return. Apple has also said it will accept returns from iPhone 4 owners who don’t want their phone any longer. This situation and that offer represent a unique confluence in the smart phone market — something that...

The FIFA World Cup 2010 has departed after Spain pushed past the Netherlands, 1-0 in the last minutes of extra time. The pinnacle game was anything but. Slow, cautious and unappealing for center-stage, I found myself, a soccer apologist, unable to defend such a game but Spain deserved the win and the populace is still celebrating. But with the World Cup passing into history, I’m left with some unexpected impressions. I found the international game of football (soccer) to be ponderous and cumbersome. I realized, with some pain, that a single referee cannot arbitrate the entire pitch and is forced...

Rumor has it, many people are running into problems with their new iPhone 4 showing “No Service” in the upper, left-hand corner. I worked through some issues and found a solution that worked for me so I thought I would pass it along. I purchased my iPhone 4 around 3pm local time. The sales rep “activated” the phone using a Mac in the store, then told me there were some issues with phone activation but it shouldn’t be much of an issue. I left the store with my old iPhone 3G still working and my new iPhone 4 without service. About 20 minutes after leaving the store, my old...

Every four years a sporting event comes to town that is like no other. I speak, of course, about the World Cup. What is the World Cup, you ask? The only sport in which every country in the civilized world participates in, is held every four years (think Olympic rarity), and takes two years of hard play to qualify for. The World Series? Uh, that isn’t against the world, it is against other U.S. baseball teams. Superbowl champions are world champions? Um, nope. Again, same issue. But to win the World Cup in soccer means something that all countries respect — too bad most U.S. folk don’t...

It’s no secret I enjoy visual entertainment. I watch the odd movie in the theater, have a proud and diverse selection of movies in my top-10, and even hit the shallow end of pop culture by tip-toeing through shows like Survivor-Umpteenth and American Idolicious. However, few shows have captured my attention like Breaking Bad. In its third season on AMC, Breaking Bad is acted with perfect realism, has inventive and engaging dialog (read: writing), and is pushed to the screen with intense emotion and on-point direction. Though I’ve also seen the first two seasons, Breaking Bad has become one...

My PC is getting a touch long in the tooth. Sure, I’ve upgraded the system to include a high-end graphics card (the GTX295) and included enough memory and an operating system that takes advantage of said memory, but the system is … was pokey. I recently had troubles with my main hard drive and decided to do some research into finding a replacement. I’ve read about SSDs and how quickly they read and write information but was hesitant. I’ve read some reports indicating SSD setup is a hassle, non-intuitive, and one had better know what they are doing before jumping in. I decided to...

It has been a while since we heard anything about the H1N1 virus. Based on last winter’s reports, it appears that the end of the world was neigh. If you believed the press (any version, CNN, MSNBC or FOX) then catastrophe was impending. I saw reports on potential body counts, the impact of deadly bugs on history, and just how dramatically viruses have adapted to modern medicine. According to the “news,” all of these indicators would lead to the super-bug science has been warning the world about for years. Not so. In fact, the H1N1 hysteria has been replaced with tacit acknowledgment...

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. In some incredible action, both on and off the course, The Masters was decided by a hard 6-iron swing by Phil Mickelson, picking a ball off pine needles, directly behind a tree, to a green over water. I’m a huge “Lefty” fan and thoroughly enjoyed seeing him win his third green jacket. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I enjoyed Tiger being humbled by an inconsistent swing as he was trying to dance between “old” Tiger attitudes and the new, improved Tiger. Both were fascinating to watch.