This is what I call “full contact science.”
September 2018
Quote of the Day
“Marriage is all about everyone being unhappy.” – Paraphrase from John Hodgman’s Podcast Judge John Hodgman.
Magnum P.I. Review
I watched the trailers yesterday and became interested in the Magnum P.I. reboot. I watched the show using the CBS app on the Apple TV but had to use the “Live TV” option which meant I was barraged with advertising. I can’t believe just how annoying the advertising has become. Watch 10 minutes of show and 15 minutes of advertising. Awful.
I’m not sure why producers feel the need to change the sex of an established character like Higgins. Now, Higgins is a female ex-MI6 agent. Ok, but that is pretty weird and completely unnecessary.
In the original version, we all couldn’t wait for the Robin Masters reveal at the end of the series that showed that Higgins is actually Robin Masters. In this reboot, that can’t be the case. Higgins is played by a woman and in the pilot episode, Magnum describes meeting Robin Masters and also how much of a good “man” he is. Man. That means that this reboot will have to re-write original show canon. That means messing with a winning formula and thinking that you somehow know better than the 80’s hit show did.
Let’s talk about Justin Lin for a second. CBS brings him in to do amazing pilots. They hook you like Scorpion did and then when lesser directors take over the reigns, the show goes down hill. Scorpion was cancelled after only four seasons. It almost became cartoonish. Justin Lin is known for the Fast and Furious movies. His story telling is top notch. Having said that, this pilot episode seemed a bit rushed to me. It was like scrunching a 2 hour pilot into an hour and all of the cutting room floor pieces that go with it.
I found myself wondering “how did we get here?” most of the time. Sexual tension between Higgins and Magnum will not be enough to keep people watching. The idea has been done to death. The other show characters seem animated. They are likable but the relationship with Magnum is “too” friendly. If you remember, Magnum’s friends used to roll their eyes…a lot.
I think the pilot was ok. They are spending a crap ton more money on the show than the original did. I don’t believe that will be sustainable for a long show run. I would give it 3 stars out of 5. I would love to be wrong about this one. I don’t believe I am.
I think we’ve already watched the best episode.
Shazam!
Apple bought Shazam and I am very happy about this acquisition. Apple just announced that the deal has been finalized. Shazam identifies a song by listening to what you are listening to and then shows you what the name of the song is and who sings it. It even has a component to it that will show you the lyrics in real time as the song plays.
I’ve been using Shazam since it was first introduced. I can’t tell you how many songs I’ve identified with it. I’ve used it in a car, at the movies, in bars, and in restaurants.
For example, yesterday while I was playing Forza Horizon 3 on my xBox and there was a song playing that I was semi interested in. I used Shazam to find out it was a song called Bury It.
Shazam is a piece of AI that is absolutely useful and shows the true potential of the iOS platform.
Coding Error = Death of 293 Cars
This story isn’t really funny. I’m glad Subaru caught it and quickly fixed it.
I’m posting this story because Slashdot comments make me laugh. Scroll down to the bottom of the article to find the comments.
Geek News from the Wherever
Things worth noting today.
SpaceX reveals identity of the world’s first lunar space tourist
German doctors say there is a 'high plausibility' that a member of the Russian protest band Pussy Riot was poisoned https://t.co/7A9G5EtceF
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) September 18, 2018
Why Marvel is Better at Making Movies…
…than DC Comics.
Ben Affleck is hanging up the cape, according to a report that the actor is leaving the Batman franchise.
via New York post
Affleck’s exit comes on the heels of another departure from the DC universe, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which claims Henry Cavill will no longer be Superman.
Changing actors so often has become tiresome for movie goers. I just got used to these characters being portrayed by these actors. DC can’t even have the same actor that works on a television show play in their movies. Look at The Flash for example — played by two different actors in two very different ways. Grant Gustin’s television version isn’t the same as Ezra Miller’s version in Justice League.
The Presidential Alert
Coming to a cell phone near you on September 20th at approximately 2:18 EST.
It could be delayed until October 3rd.
More details here.
INTJ Personality Types
I did not know this was a thing. I see some of myself in this personality type and also some co-workers, past and present.
INTJ’s are one of the most rarest personality types and form only 2% of the population. Here is a brief overview of the characteristics:
via Life Hacker
(I)ntroversion – They focus their attention inward and get their energy from having time alone
i(N)tuition– They rely on the information they get from within themselves. As a result, they tend to focus more on ideas and concepts rather than facts and details.
(T)hinking – They prefer to make their decisions based on their own logical reasoning and analysis rather than their own emotions.
(J)udgement – They orient themselves to the external world through planning and organization rather than going with the flow and having sponinaeity.
You can read the whole article here. Fascinating shizz.
Apple Announcements
Apple will be announcing new things today. I’ve tried to avoid other folks expectations and guesses because I want Apple to tell me what they are doing and not some scrub on a fan boy website.
Phil Schiller (Apple) has said that when leaks occur it really hurts the design team and steals their thunder in a rather unjust manner.
If I worked on something for over a year then I’d want to be the one who announces it. Not some hack who is trying to get click bait.
Looking at you Apple Insider. No. I’m not posting a link so you can get even more click bait.
Ancient Mystery Revealed
A woman's bare breasts calms an angry sea". This is why many vessels have a figure of a woman on the bow of the ship. It was believed that a woman’s bare breasts would “shame” the stormy seas into calm. Alas, the ancient power of female nudity. pic.twitter.com/ndzyPDFqY4
— عُمَرْ (@rasbeirutboy) September 3, 2018
Random Photo of the Day
This was taken in 2014 at the Texas Roadhouse in Lebanon, PA. I will not post the picture of me on the stupid bull thing because it was my birthday. Nothing to see there.
Around the Twitter-verse – Monday Edition
Monday is World #SuicidePrevention Day. Find out what you can do if you think someone is considering suicide: https://t.co/LjJTFt2sBe #WSPD2018 #Letstalk pic.twitter.com/yYs8qrHqvQ
— United Nations (@UN) September 10, 2018
Successful deployment of Telstar 18 VANTAGE to a geostationary transfer orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/nlRgxoILJ9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2018
F O C U S 👀 pic.twitter.com/u6FI3yIcgT
— Justine Ezarik (@ijustine) September 10, 2018
Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for part of the Hawaiian Islands. Here is the latest forecast track with Hurricane Olivia from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. #Olivia #HurricanePreparedness pic.twitter.com/fjr4OV8BjO
— NWS (@NWS) September 10, 2018
Adding an important one…
Today in Apple history: Macintosh 512K, aka the ‘Fat Mac,’ quadruples the memory https://t.co/MntOjmbpRk by @lukedormehl pic.twitter.com/GAuEApR3TC
— Cult of Mac (@cultofmac) September 10, 2018
Fleetwood Mac – 2018
They are about to go on tour at the beginning of October minus Lindsey Buckingham. They still sound great and Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie are still hot.
European 21st Century Dictators
or The European Union — either title fits. This morning 9 to 5 Mac posted a story about the standards that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will have to meet in order to be able to function in the European economy.
Streaming video services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will soon have to ensure that at least 30% of the programming offered in Europe is produced in EU countries …
via 9 to 5 Mac
The rules and regulations they create are enormous and ridiculous. If we are lucky, Netflix will throw its hands up and say that it is monetarily not worth the effort and pull out of Europe. That is my hope.
Labor Day!
Most folks celebrate Labor Day by not working. For the last several years, our company has had to work on Labor Day.
Not this year.
I get the opportunity to be off and write scathing articles about whatever the fonk I want. I started a short story about a young boy versus the universe and a cookie jar. Perhaps, I’ll finish the first draft.
Saturday, I ripped out all of the cabling in the office and re-ran everything. I ended up with a boxful of cabling that I obviously didn’t need. I probably should have done that years ago. I was most happy to resurrect the Heineken sign that I’ve had for about seven years.
