…a facebook… phone. because we need more bungling idiots getting distracted behind the wheel of their vehicles reading texts, wall posts, and other such nonsense while driving, right? fuck this shit. you and certainly, i, dont need it.
We heard it five months ago and we’re hearing it again: Facebook is working on its own smartphone. It’s a rumor that sends the mind reeling with speculation. What, exactly, would a super-social phone even look like?
more HERE
with all this hype about the titanic (again) because of the recent release of the 3D version of the same film, i wondered what other kinds of maritime machinery monsters there were… to my surprise, there’s lots… this one for example:
its just fucking big. ridiculously. and its not the biggest one from what ive read… theres the emma maersk which you may have seen lumbering about near your local ports ‘o call. or maybe youve seen the queen mary 2…? either way, with the size of these ships being quite massive, im amazed we dont hear about them more often.
i guess it wouldve been a good idea to turn off the geo-tagging when using your cell phone to take pics, no? you cant stay anonymous when youre broadcasting location info… and for that, you deserve to get nicked by the coppers.
amateurs.
more HERE
my nephew brought some saddening news to my attention recently… due to the yen becoming more powerful in value, nissan’s top brass, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to move production for infiniti models out of japan and onto… mexico, the US, and elsewhere. of course, this has to do with the cost to build these vehicles, but nissan is missing the point when it comes to people buying the upper echelon of their marque…
youre buying an infiiniti because it s a premium vehicle. the quality control and feature sets of the premium lines that were originally brought to america was higher than those of “regular” offerings from the parent company, and as such, a higher price was mandated. if you take the quality only found in japanese manufacturing techniques away, you may as well not put the premium badge on it.
sushi is a good example of this… living in los angeles and orange counties, and being that there’s a relatively high number of japanese in southern CA, you get to experience a lot of great and some not-so great japanese food. sushi is something that has potential to make you sick if not prepared properly, so it’s always in your best interest to go to a sushi bar that is known for high quality ingredients and even better food prep procedures. that said, who better to prepare your sushi, than a japanese sushi chef. granted, there are some wack japanese sushi chefs out there, and not ALL of them have learned the skills necessary to prepare your food as it should be prepared, nor exude the pride when creating a culinary work of art.
this is where the correlation is: a car built in japan, by japanese auto workers is going to have much higher quality than if it was built elsewhere. the quality control is ridiculously high, the pride behind making a quality product is high, and the consumer knows that theyre getting a very well built vehicle. likewise, there are lots of restaurants that say theyre “japanese” or serve japanese “cuisine”… however, many of them are NOT really japanese owned/operated. oftentimes, youll find that the only thing japanese about some sushi bars and restaurants is the name, or even just 1 or 2 people on the wait staff. these places are usually owned by koreans, with hispanic/latino “chefs” that know very little of how japanese food is supposed to taste, let alone how it should be made. i find that they have their own take on what the food is supposed to taste like and it’s not what you’d expect. (salty tamago, anyone?) no offense to those who are korean or hispanic… it’s just truth. i understand that some are in the business of making money… but im in the business of consuming quality food not just for the taste of it, but because i also want to avoid the potential for such food to make me sick or kill me. get it?
i want my japanese car to be manufactured by the japanese – not anyone else. dont believe the quality control isnt there? go drive a current generation infiniti G35, then drive a top-line fully loaded V6 nissan altima… ill bet you notice it right away once you slam the driver door shut and start the car. go ahead… call me a snob if you want. enjoy your California roll with “krab” and its soggy nori wrapper.
more about this abomination HERE
deep. philosophical. scientific. sagan.
very fascinating series; very akin to the science shows on PBS/KCET 28 back in the 80s… the ones about homeostasis narrated by a similarly voiced character.
