Author: Mike P. Lewis

Hit the Gym With These

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Running with Liz
Image by pescatello via Flickr

It’s COLD.

I used to be able to take it but i’m living below the Mason-Dixon line and have become a totally softy. Because of this i’ve been confined to the treadmill for the past few weeks. I hate running on the treadmill. To make treadmill running less boring and sucky, i’m on a constant lookout for workout music to keep me going on a stationary machine. So, i’ve found a few things that have made me happy…

Mashups

If i owned a gym like Bally’s or WSC/NYSC i would play mashups over the loud speakers all the time. They are familiar songs but with a extra funky kick. Everyone likes them. Some of my favorite songs to run to are mashups. Here are 3 good examples for you.  You can download them from this site.

  • Prince’s Kiss + Rob Base’s It Takes Two = It Takes 2 To Kiss
  • Jay-Z + Nena = 99 Luft Problems
  • The Cure + Ying Yang Twins = Badd To Me
  • Kanye West + Beethoven + Walter Murphy = Beethoven’s Fifth Gold Digger
  • Kelly Clarkson + Depeche Mode + Rex The Dog = Since U Been Gahan

LCD Album

I bought this song on iTunes and it’s a 45 minute song created specificly for running. It has ups and downs to represent the highs and lows you have when going for a 45 minute run. This is the first time i’ve seen something like this and it’s good to have sometime if you want something to just be good background music for a longer run. I’m working to convert this to an mp3, stay tuned.

iPod T-Shirt

I normally don’t listen to that much music when i run outside, but i have to have it on the treadmill or else i get pretty bored. Also, i hate carrying the damn iPod when i’m outside. When i’m inside, i can put it on the treadmill. I did find this sweet shirt which makes it easy to stash my nano in my shirt when i run. There’s a little side pocket that’s good for my keys and nano. Both stylish and functional!

Free mp3s to workout to

There’s a great site that’s appeared called I Like This Song which posts a new mp3 every day of a good tune. I recommend you go there and get the tunes

Plasma TV: 1080p and HDMI

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I’m about to purchase a new Plasma TV and thought i’d post about the new acroynms that have become my obsession.

Let’s start with 1080p. There are 3 types of HDTV’s available today: 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. What do these mean. The numbers refer to the number of lines across the screen, the ‘i’ stands for “interlaced” and the ‘p’ stands for “progressive”. Interlaced means that only every other line is refreshed whereas Progressive means every line is refreshed (both happens 24 times a second). To date, only 720p and 1080i have been available. Because ‘p’ refreshes every time, it’s better than ‘i’. But 1080 is better than 720 because it is more lines. So it’s a toss up between the two.

BUT, then came along 1080p, the best of both worlds. These TV’s are just hitting the market now and should be everywhere by this summer and definitely by Christmas. So, the question i ask myself is: do i wait for one of these or shell out for one of the others?

Doing this research (thank you Dr. Raduchel) i found out the following items:

There is NO detectable differnce between 1080p and 720p unless you have a screen larger than 50 inches

There are no HD-DVD’s, Blu-Ray DVD’s, TV shows, or anything available at 1080p. There will be eventually, but it is also true that most movies weren’t shot in high enough resolution to matter. Basically, most movies were shot in worse quality than 1080p so having a super nice picture showing lower quality doesn’t make sense.

The HDMI cord matters. This is the cord that carries the picture and sound to your TV. HDMI 1.3 was just released and you should get this version with your TV. It’s different than 1.2. Speicifically the transfer rate is much higher so if there is a high-resolution standard in the future, your TV can handle it. And, most importantly, it supports something called “Deep Color” which basically extends the number of colors from millions to billions. In the future, you’ll probably want your TV to be using HDMI 1.3. The PlayStation 3 was one of the first to have it and most TV’s will have it soon. (Go here if want to know more)

So all this being said, i’m probably going to go with a 720p Plasma from Samsung.  Anyone else have any thoughts or experiences that they’d like to share?

Hitler's Name

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Before World War II, only 2% of all people in Germany were named Adolf, and during Hitler’s reign, he forbade Germans to name children after him.  So, you are almost guaranteed to never meet anyone with the name Adolf Hitler.

The Who?

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I found this list of explanations of some band names. It’s pretty interesting, especially the Blue Oyster Cult one…

Hot Tuna – they were originally called Hot Shit but their record company made them change the 2nd word to Tuna.

Pearl Jam – Eddie Vedder came up with the name in honor of his Aunt Pearl’s homemade jam which supposedly is a natural aphrodisiac and contains peyote.

Beastie Boys – Beastie is supposed to stand for Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Inner Excellence

Blue Oyster Cult – the name is an anagram of “Cully Stout Beer”. One band member came up with it one night when he was doodling at a bar with the band manager.

The Gin Blossoms – a gin blossom is slang for the capillaries in your nose and face that burst because of excess drinking

311 – the police code for indecent exposure in California.

Generation X – named after a book that Billy Idol found in his mother’s bookcase. It was a mid 1960’s sociological essay that featured interviews with teenagers in competing gangs in the UK.

Foo Fighters – World War II fighter plane slang for UFO’s

Counting Crows – comes from an old British poem that states that life is as meaningless as counting crows

Blind Melon – according to the bassist (Brad Smith) the name is slang for unemployed hippies in Mississippi

The Who – The band was originally called The High Numbers but one day they were sitting around thinking of a new name and each time somebody mentioned one, they would joke and ask, “the who?” Finally a friend said, “Why not just call yourselves, ‘The Who’?”

Got the Ass Stamina, See All Best Picture Options

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body_bgrd.jpgIt’s a pretty good year of movies and the five films up for Academy Award for Best Picture are all worth seeing. They are Babel, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, The Queen, and Letters of Iwo Jima.

If you have missed some or all of them, you’re in luck because AMC theaters is doing a 1-time event where they’ll play all 5 movies back-to-back. The first film starts at 11 am and there’s a 15-25 min break between each one as well as unlimited popcorn and soda for the entire day.

Over Christmas, my cousin and i did 4 movies in a row (Rocky, We Are Marshall, Apacalypto, Dreamgirls) and it was pretty rough on the ol’ kisser, but this is a better lineup so it could prove be a little less painful. Personally, i’d go to rewatch The Departed (my favorite of the year), see Babel, Iwo Jima, and Queen and then skip out on Little Miss Sunshine. Who’s with me?

Maposaurus = Good Commercial

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I was reading through the reviews of the commerical from the Super Bowl today and was shocked to see that everyone hated Garmin’s Maposaurus. Are you serious? It was fantastic. Similar to the (much better) Muse’s music video Knights of Cydonia it was retro and really good

What did the commerical have? Let’s see:

  • pencil-thin mustache
  • nuclear power plant being destroyed
  • laser beams
  • transformative belt-buckles
  • carnage

How can you go wrong?

Check it out for yourself:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kxrj3OQcXJY]

Beer for All Types of People

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My sister recently discovered that she might be allergic to wheat.  No bread at all, no pizza, no pasta, and even worse: no beer.

While looking into what possible options might be for her, i discovered (and then also saw here) a company called Long Tail Libations.  Apparently Anheuser-Busch has created it as a division to create and market niche products.  There is a great book called The Long Tail that came out in 2006 that talks about the fundamental shift of the marketplace from blockbusters to niche products as a result of the “infinite shelf” of the Internet. Bud recognized this shift and created this new division.

As a result they have gone from 26 brands in 1997 to 80 brands in 2007.  The new brands cover all sorts of crazy niches such as a beers with a safe grain for those allergic to wheat (Redbridge), a beer with caffeine (Bud Extra), a bock beer (ZiegenBock), a stout (Bare Knuckle), and some organic ales (Stone Mill  and Wild Hop)

Redbridge Redbridge
Redbridge is a rich, hearty, full-bodied lager brewed with sorghum (a safe grain for those allergic to wheat or gluten), water, yeast, imported Hallertau and domestic Cascade hops and corn. The result is a rich, full-bodied lager with a moderately hoppy taste. No wheat or barley is used to make the beer.
 
Bud Extra
Bud Extra takes beer to a new level – combining the drinkability and broad appeal of beer with caffeine, ginseng and guarana, Bud Extra is a beer remixed. Well-balanced beer with unique aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, Bud Extra offers a lightly sweet and tart taste – with a “wow” factor in the finish.
Bare Knuckle Stout
Traditionally brewed using a blend of roasted barley, pale and caramel malts, Bare Knuckle Stout is balanced with robust hopping to provide a rich and flavorful stout, with a smooth and creamy head.
Anheuser World Lager
Rolled out in May 2003, Anheuser World Lager is a classic pilsner beer with a distinctive hop note and full-malt flavor – an import-style beer made in the United States.
ZiegenBock
An easy-drinking, American-Style bock beer, available only in Texas, since 1995.
Stone Mill Pale Ale
Stone Mill Pale Ale has the perfect balance of maltiness and hop bouquet resulting in a classic, fruity pale ale. Stone Mill Pale Ale is brewed with organic ingredients in a certified organic brewery.
Wild Hop Lager
Wild Hop Lager is a classic, European-style lager. It has a signature body with Cascade hop aroma and hints of caramel sweetness. It is brewed using organic ingredients in an organic brewery.

The world is going to niches. When you can get 1000 channels of TV for all types of people, it makes sense that you can get all types of beer too.  At least with the non-wheat Redbridge lager it’ll help my sisters weekends that much more fun

Next is a Terrible Book

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I just have to get this off my chest. I recently finished Michael Crichton’s latest book Next and am pissed that i wasted my time on it.

You would think this would be a book for me – i know i did and i actually bought it for myself for Christmas – as I’m a big fan of Crichton and love thinking about catastrophic genetic sceanrios (previous post i wrote on the subject). But i have to say that this is one of his worst books. The only reason i made it through to the end is because the look at genetic engineering and the moral, ethical and legal mess it creates is pretty interesting. The story and characters (both human and animals) totally suck though.

Crichton’s a smart guy and the premise to his books are really good. I just think he’s become too shallow in his character development. I think his older stuff is better and really love his memoir, Travels. If you have time, you should pick it up – he’s a strange guy and it’s a good read.