the diablo 3 trailer:

a gameplay / narrative vid:

My estimate D3 release date — Q4 2010*.

* based on nothing scientific.

More info and eye candy over at the official blizzard diablo III page.

friday, yeah baby!

in related news, new futurama came out three days ago (june 24th!) holy crap!!

previously on AGF, dumb and dumber.

it looks like a tiger. grrr.

while not exactly my style, I dig it. especially like the blacked out exhaust cover. I will have to paint mine…

Update June 30 ‘08: I painted my exhaust cover. :)

looks like fun, huh. even if it does end up being somewhere in the neighborhood of a $10-15 shot…

quick-background:
I finally got my brand-spankin’ new 2008 DL650 last week (after writing about only one final contender and two months of waiting for it to arrive from the factory.)

I broke in the first ~50 miles (proper engine break-in is super important) using a combination of techniques found here, here, and the user’s manual (though not really.)

I changed my oil & filter yesterday, accidentally overfilled it then promptly drained the excess (very irritating thing to do..) I’m using a stock suzuki oil filter and valvoline 10w-40 oil for the next ~500 miles - until my 600 mile service which I expect will be by the mid-end of this month.

pros summary:
fucking fun. a very different experience than riding my ‘87 Yamaha Virago (a 700cc.) the handling is very tight and I generally always feel safe on my Wee. the breaks are astounding: I’m much more likely to fly off the bike by breaking than accelerating.

a few cons:
I can confirm that there is a lot of ‘helmet buffeting’ that is pretty headache inducing in large doses. I plan on tweaking to kingdom-come in efforts to fix but at this point, the issue is not so bad reducing the fun I am having is lessened any. milage during break in is crap. there is a lot of vacuum’y sounds from the bike at all rpms that I’m a little leary of. the dealership I purchased from is pretty shitty; also, I didn’t get a great deal on the bike.

my ride to work - through the woods, over the hills and straddle the cliffs overlooking the shore.
absolutely awesome ride for twisties:

link to googlemaps route

…like what an overgrown-raised-truck-that-floors-it-between-red-traffic-lights says about the tiny package its driver has, you know, where it counts. that giggle you get knowing they’re over compensating for lacking any real virtue.

presenting the smart car monster truck:

[story linky, via justinsomnia!]

I adore the absolute efficiency of these homes. while they fascinate me to the point of awe, I wouldn’t want one as my primary domicile. I like my big screen tv, multi-monitor desk, couch, chairs, (ahh dishwasher…someday) and closets…. but, if given the choice of one of these or an RV, tumble me a house please!

my fav is the weebee >>

They know the truth about Abe Lincoln’s assassination:

Makers of Forever Puppies:

Celebrators of SATURDAY!!!!!!!

Musicians of questionable ethics and talent:

Pizza’s NOT for breakfast:

And so much more… (disclaimer: many are nsfw & many more aren’t that funny)

(click to watch) show casing the most dramatic punch in the face, quite possibly, ever. thanx andre!

but… Master of Puppets, And Justice For All, Metallica (black album), and Ride the Lightning will forever be absolute works of musical genius.

my generation’s Classical Music.

this guy is talented as hell: great voice, great guitar, great beard. in many ways, it is better than the original.
- download an mp3 version here (credit goes to… uwaterloo.ca)
- and/or check out that fella’s band on myspace here

just two painstakingly long months to go til the June 24th release.

[the new film is the]…most tentacle-packed Futurama epic, space itself rips open, revealing a gateway to another universe. What lies beyond is a mix of horror and love as the Planet Express crew encounters a repulsive, planet-sized monster with romantic intentions.

The second feature-length Futurama film will be followed by at least two more movies…

as proclaimed by this animation mag post

in short: it is awesome, even without the BB data plan - sprint has been unable to add to my account for me.
(note: sprint CS on the whole, sucks ass. however, once in awhile you will get through to some great people; really depends on the time of day.)

I have a pre-existing data plan on my account that “conflicts” and will not allow BB data on top or instead of. cest la ve ~ no +$30/month for sprint… besides not being able to use the BB browser/messenger/maps, I am cool with the data plan I have now. it allows me (via BB’s underlying built-in TCP stack) I am able to use all these cool (nate’s naraku approved) free apps:

• google maps (takes advantage of the GPS unit in the phone; freaking awesome)
• gmail
• yahoo go (unable to load so far..)
• opera mini
• jivetalk

other than a few issues loading apps on the phone by USB (one “big” key is getting them without the use of the BB browser - use this user agent switcher firefox add on to fool google & yahoo into letting you download) all is swell. battery life seems a tad on the poor side but I likely just need to tweak settings more.

here is a neat side-by-side compare of the RIM BB Pearl and the Apple iPhone.

my new BB pearl replaces the former samsung a900 which I reviewed nearly two years ago - it had a great run.

last updated: 4/1/08

</obligatory-self-promotion>

the guys over at 37 signals experimented with the 4 day work week, 3 day weekend last summer and have since made it the standard. I think this snippet sums up the logistics of their thinking:

Three-day weekends mean people come back extra refreshed on Monday. Three-day weekends mean people come back happier on Monday. Three-day weekends mean people actually work harder and more efficiently during the four-day work week.

I imagine this sort’ve setup, however dreamy as it is, probably does not work as well as hoped especially as an organization grows. 37S is pretty small (~10?) and nearly no central office anyway, so great for them.

it all goes back to how do we fairly & accurately quantify “work-done / day” anyway? especially when it comes to creative production - sure, just about anybody can say “yes it is done” but only the author/artist/developer/etc can truly say when and how much “progress” is made. quantifying based on things like lines of code, strokes of a brush, or words written are obviously flawed.

I digress; I want 4 day work-weeks too. upon hire, I requested 4 in-office work days, 1 at home work day (wednesday, or friday) … still gunning for that on a certainty weekly basis. I know how much work I could get done, it’s the (employeer) trust issue that’s generally at stake.