They suck you in...

(the following is copied directly from Dvorak's blog)



If you don’t want to be sucked into a vortex of iPods, iMacs, iPhones and various other Appley products, stay at least 25 feet away from Apple Stores. That’s the conclusion Gene Munster and a group of Piper Jaffray analysts came to over the weekend after doing a little mall-based Apple Store fieldwork.

In the end, the team concluded that the stores seemed to exert a mysterious ‘gravitational pull‘ on shoppers who did venture closer than 25 feet of the entranceways. According to Munster, about 27 percent of people who came within 25 feet of the store thresholds ended up being sucked inside. And while the same force did not compel them to buy anything, Munster believes the mere fact shoppers were drawn inside may be indicative of future purchase decisions.

“The important point is this gravitational pull highlights that consumers’ future buying intentions could be shifting to Apple from PCs,” he said in a research note. “If materialized, this shift should benefit Apple in 2008 and 2009.”

Matthew

Instruments?

This is sad!

My spelling skills have always been lacking, but lately, they have downright filed me! I was just trying to type "instruments" and had to think long and hard about it... and even then, I got it wrong!

Arg, I need to take a spelling class... this is humiliating (yea, I spelled that right!). Stupid computers with auto-spell-check-and-fix.

Matthew

Christmas VS The Bible Quiz

Take this quiz, and tell us how you did! It is a simple true or false quiz, written by my LifeGroup leader Jason Vandever.

Christmas VS The Bible.

To test it out, I ran through it once and got a perfect score. I am interested in seeing what others will answer.

Matthew

Christmastime is here!

Seeing as people need to know these types of things soon, I thought that I would go ahead and post my Christmas Wish List (yes, I am more selfish than Stephen who doesn't want anything). One note: I am posting this open list, but I don't want duplicates, so I leave it up to YOU ALL to pass along what you got me so that I don't get 5 of something. Also, I know that part of my family will not be participating in giving gifts this year, and that is cool. This is just a list for people who want to know.

Here goes:
Serenity Collector's Edition DVD ($20, Amazon link)
A watch (I was going to give you all of these parameters of what I want, but then I thought it would be neat to be surprised)
A new mouse (wired or wireless, I don't care)
iLife '08 (if you want to splurge: $70 from Amazon)
a wireless router with "bridging" capabilities (ask Jimmy)
a new mouse (nothing fancy)
iTunes gift cards (available at any retail store, usually near cash registers)
and of course, cash is always welcome.

Or you could just be creative and get me whatever you feel like.

I am sure I will append this list as I get more ideas.

Matthew

Graduation...

Just so that everyone knows what is going on about my graduation:
I am graduating in December 2007 from the University of North Texas with a BA in Radio/Television/Film.
I will not be walking the stage for many many reasons (too many to post here), but mostly because I will be hanging out with family in the weeks following, so there is no need for everyone to drive up here.
I am considering taking one last class in the Spring (technically as a post-grad), but am leaning away from taking it at this point.

Matthew

A big move...

Just to let everyone know, I am canceling my old server (where I stored all of my stuff on the internet) and am moving it to a new server, so if old links don't work, it is because they are pointing to the wrong place. One of these days when I have a lot of time on my hands I may go back and change out the old links.

Note that wile www.MeMediaWeb.com still goes to my site, parts may be down or missing as I upload everything back.

Oh, and I uploaded a page with all of my cell phone pics (over 575), but am debating if I will actually post it...

Matthew

Too Geeky!

(this post is directly copied from Macenstein)

Any Apple fan with limited garage/basement space has at one time or another been told by the woman in his life (be it a wife or mother) that they need to throw away those giant Apple computer boxes their machines came in. Well, I challenge any nagging wife to refute the awesomeness of THIS shot taken at the DragonCon Labor Day Weekend Parade.



That’s right. It appears to be a Darth Vader costume made predominantly from a Mac Pro box - and the fellow is wearing the Apple logo where it counts. By combining an obsession with Apple and an obsession with Star Wars, this brave soul has achieved a level of super geekdom that most of us can only dream of reaching. We bow to you, Mac Vader Pro.

Too... much... information...

So, on another break from my assignment, I did a vanity search for MeMedia, and what came up first? www.MeMedia.com. On their front page is the following text:

MeMedia is a leading, full-service, online advertising solutions provider and behavioral ad network achieving superior results through innovative multimodal technologies, expert advice, and global reach.

Utilizing our advanced behavioral targeting capabilities, our diverse portfolio of rich advertising solutions, and our rapidly expanding global inventory, MeMedia connects premium advertisers to a global audience delivering superior monetization and advertiser campaign performance.


Can you say "overuse of the thesaurus?" I mean really! Outside of the Declaration of Independence, those are the longest two sentences I have ever read! The average letter per word is just under ten! This text needs to be reworded so that people that did not graduate from Yale and/or Harvard will be able to understand it. Try this on for size:

MeMedia is trying to copy Google by being an ad company. However, we think that we are better because Google sucks (oh and we have a lot of technologies that they don't have).

We will use these technologies to advertise to people.


See, that wasn't so hard. Next time, try using less thesaurus and more Simpleton Speech.

Matthew

I can't breathe!

The weekend away from work and school was amazing! Family, food, and War Craft made a great vacation.

But Sunday afternoon something in the air blew in, and my allergies are going haywire, just like they do every year at this time. My nose is stopped up, and I constantly have mucus dripping down the back of my throat. The mucus hits my tonsils (or something back there) and makes me cough, giving me a sore throat. The mucus then goes down to my stomach where, if I haven't eaten in a few hours, it makes me nauseous.

All day. Every day. But night is worse. Because my nose is stopped up, I can't breathe, and I wake suddenly grasping for air, coughing, and feeling like I have to throw up. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night (while it was cold in my room, I was sweating so much I had to turn my sleep mask inside-out because the inside was so wet).

But there is good news. For all of this to go away, all I have to do is get a needle in the butt. I have an appointment with the Wellness Center on campus tomorrow at 1 to get the shot, so hopefully tomorrow night I can get a good night's sleep. Right now, I am just trying to work on a script due tomorrow without thinking about my clogged nose for more than 30 seconds (which is hard because I have to look down at a book, and if I am not careful, my nose will start dripping everywhere...). Then again, if I have a Dr.'s appointment tomorrow, then I can skip class and give him the note later. Hmmm....

Ya, this post is gross, but then again, so is life, so get used to it (that is, get used to life, not gross posts... I try not to be gross too often).

Matthew

Trivia:

Your trivia for today:
"Five of the world's ten biggest megachurches are in just one country."

What country is it?

Hint: It isn't America!

Matthew

Rhonda

I just thought that I would let everyone know who Rhonda is.

While most of you do not know her name, she has been an integral part of my life for the past five and a half years. I fully believe that God gave her to me, and she has served me well through rain, sleet, and snow.

Of course I am talking about my truck:


(file photo)

Her name came from a TV show from a few years back called "Random1" where two guys drove around in an old beat up truck doing random acts of kindness (can you guess that it only lasted one season?). The name of their truck was Jackie, and while that would have been a perfect name for my truck, I didn't want to steal a name.

In one episode, the guys helped an older African American gentleman, and his daughter said that Jackie was not a good name for that truck, and suggested that they name it something else. I couldn't remember what the name was, so a few months ago I sent an e-mail to the Random1 guys asking the question. They responded:

Matthew,

It was so cool to get this email reminding us of that moment with Steven's daughter Asia. I was finally able to get a hold of Andre and he loved that you asked this question. Asia said Jackie should be named Rhonda!

Thanks so much for getting in touch and supporting R1. We all appreciate it:)
best, thea and the Random 1 crew


So a few months ago I officially named my truck Rhonda.

There you have it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Matthew

Latest Ad

This is the latest ad from Apple. It appears on news websites, and consists of two parts, a horizontal ad on top and a larger ad on the right hand side. The coolest part is how they both work together to make a neat and funny ad.



Matthew

Vote!

I thought that this was interesting and fun...

"All of the designs submitted to the Jars Of Clay Design Contest were amazing, but these 30 shirts are the cream of the crop. The next part is up to you! Vote on your favorite shirts! The 4 shirts that receive the most votes will advance to the next round of judging, where the members of Jars Of Clay will choose a grand prize winner and 3 runners-up. Voting ends on Friday, November 16 at 11:59pm PST."

Vote here!

I suggest that you look at each individual photo by clicking on it. Or (as clicking on it wouldn't work for me) viewing the photo directly:
http://www.nettwerk.com/contest/2007/jars_tshirt/images/01.jpg
through
http://www.nettwerk.com/contest/2007/jars_tshirt/images/30.jpg

I will tell you what I voted for laters!

Matthew

Follow up...

In a followup to my last post:

Australian Santas Asked Not to 'Ho Ho Ho' - "phrase could frighten children and could even be derogatory to women."

Matthew

Naughty or Nice

"Liberty Counsel’s Matthew Staver is out with a “Naughty & Nice” list for stores this holiday—excuse me, Christmas—season."

Follow the blog post here.

Matthew

Yummy!

For the few of you that read this who aren't in my family, and in honor of the warm weather, here is my Featured Recipe of 2007:

(Almost) Kelling Family Doritos Salad

Ingredients:
1 head of lettuce
4 Roma tomatoes (the small kind)
1.5 cups shredded cheese (or more to taste)
1 can black beans (or kidney or Ranch Style) (washed and drained)
1 lb. hamburger meat
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 bag of the cheapest tortilla chips Wal-Mart has to offer
1 bottle Light ("Free") Catalina

Chop lettuce and tomatoes fine, put in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle cheese and beans on top.

Fix meat according to the taco seasoning packet (usually you brown the meat, add a bit of water and the seasoning and simmer for a while). Drain mean (if needed). Sprinkle meat on top of salad.

Grab three large handfuls of chips and crumble on top of meat. Pour on half of the bottle of dressing, and mix well. Add two more crushed handfuls of ships and half of the remaining dressing, mix well. Add one more handful of chips, crushed, and the rest of the dressing. Mix well. (It takes me this many steps because I have a just-big-enough mixing bowl. If you have a large enough mixing bowl, you might be able to get away with less steps.)

Serve immediately. Accept praise from everyone who is eating the salad (even if it is only you).

Matthew

Hawaii

For those of you that haven't seen this, it is the panoramic view from our hotel in Hawaii earlier this year.


Click for larger view... but not for the full size. Even the linked to image is 20% of the full size.

Matthew

Lonely...

I am lonely, and don't want to do any work, so I am watching Clue. Thanks, Sara!

EDIT: Sweet, the DVD gives you the option to see all three endings, or choose one ending at random... I choose all three. =: >

Matthew

Exploding!

Here is the second best Mythbusters myth ever!



Linky (right click, save as)(60 MB)
It will want to open in iTunes, however, it is best to watch in QuickTime, so I recommend that you "open with" QuickTime, or (Sara) use VLC.

Matthew

It is true...

My quote of the day:

"If you're going to make fun of us using sign language to make fun of each other, you might as well make fun of us using sign language to make fun of each other using sign language."
~Me.

Matthew

My leaky basement

Well, my upgrade to Leopard is going good so far. I am finally settling in and getting used to things (although I still have lots of preference panes to go through and fix, like my Mail filters, for example).

But one problem that I am having is the lack of Photoshop! I have Photoshop 7, but it won't run in the new OS. I could get away without PS (or use a different product), but every week I have to format pictures for the church's PowerPoint, and everything is set up and ready to go in Photoshop... and I haven't found a way to automate this in another program. Also, older versions of Photoshop are not supported by Adobe in this OS, so buying an older copy is out of the question.

So, I am looking at a few options:
Buy Photoshop CS3 (just under $300 educational)
Buy some other program (I will have to learn everything all over and hope that I can automate the process)
... umm... that is really all.

So, unless someone comes up with a great solution, I am officially giving you my birthday wish list: Photoshop CS3.

What? You think it is too expensive to buy for your favorite person in the world? Fine, I will take cash earmarked for the purchase of CS3.

Buying CS3 isn't a bad thing (I have always planned on upgrading eventually), I guess I just don't like being forced into the upgrade. But then again, I am the one that upgraded my system. =: >

Matthew

A new house!

So, lets say that you live in a house. It is a nice house (at least it was a few years ago when you moved in), but a newer and better house just became available down the street. The new house is not much more expensive than the one you already have. Your current house is nice, you have treated it well, but you constantly think about all of the great things in the new house. So much so that you write long blog posts about all of the great things in the new house, and how everyone from apartments will be moving into this style of house because it is so great...

Umm, ya...

So then you ponder getting the new house, going back and forth, until one day while walking across campus you stop by the bookstore and buy that new house (for the bargain price of $74.56), but you don't open it until the next day.

For the next 24 hours you pack up your old house, still not sure if you are moving, but just in case. You put all of your crap (and you have a lot of it, let me tell you!) in boxes and on external hard drives so that nothing will be lost in the move.

Then, the next day, after you finish your shift at Chick-fil-A, you take the plunge and move into that new house. It has that new house feel, that new house smell, and everything is as great as you thought it would be.

Except all of your crap is still in boxes! And when you get things out of boxes (called .dmgs), and put them on the shelf, they aren't where they were used to be, so you have to go in and change their preferences so that they are the same as before. All of this unpacking takes time and energy, most of which makes you forget about the new house smell and the new house feel. You even forget about the cool new features of the new house because you are so frustrated with unpacking and re-prefrencing.

So that night (your first night) you go to bed early because you don't feel like unpacking any more.

Lets say that all of that is true.... and.... ummm.... shoot, I lost my train of thought.

Good night.

Matthew

It is done...

It took less than 35 minutes to do a clean install. Now I get to play!

Matthew

It is here!

Well, thanks Hurley for the reply to my last post. Your point makes a lot of sense.

To be honest, I bought it yesterday afternoon, but was not 100% sure I was going to install it (99.5% is not 100%).



But, I opened it, so that is that!



Here is the inside (always beautifully done by Apple):



And the disk (one DVD for ALL versions of Leopard that Apple offers (IE: one)!):



And, last but not least, the BEST part of EVERY Apple product: the stickers!



I am planning on installing any minute (once I send an e-mail off), so my next post will be via Leopard!

EDIT: BTW, this is the coolest lamp EVER!

Matthew