Archive for September, 2011

“Deadliest Warrior” — S03E10 — Vampires vs. Zombies

Deadliest Warrior — Season 03, Episode 10 — Vampires versus Zombies

For the season three series finale, Deadliest Warrior looks to Hollywood and legendary horror monsters to simulate a battle between vampires and zombies, using science and combat tactics to determine which one is the deadliest creature.

Originating from somewhere in eastern Europe, the vampire folklore skyrocketed in popularity after the publication of Bram Stoker’s 1897 thriller, Dracula.  Vampires are creatures of the night.  Able to transform themselves into bats and thought to be intelligent and with six to ten times the strength of an ordinary human, vampires are creatures feared throughout the night.  And it’s during the night when they feed on human blood.  Using large fangs and razor sharp claws, vampires are considered to be apex predators.  But it’s only during the night when they’re dangerous.  Sunlight can kill a vampire just as easily as a wooden stake pounded through its heart or chopping off its head.

In the world of Hollywood, zombies are the walking dead.  This is not to be confused with the West African and Haitian Vodun (a.k.a. voodoo) religion where a bokor (a.k.a. sorcerer) injects something similar to a psychoactive drug into a living person and essentially takes control of his or her body, whether that person is still alive or recently deceased.  The Hollywood zombies are recently deceased, often slow moving creatures.  Appearing stupid and unintelligent, these creatures will use each muscle and every ounce of power to reach its target — living people.  A bite from a zombie or transfer of bodily fluids will transfer the zombie virus, slowly killing that person and making him or her into a fellow zombie.  Day or night, rain or shine, zombies will roam towns and the countryside in hordes until they stumble upon their next meal and pass along the zombie virus.  A zombie can lose its arms and legs and still keep wiggling itself towards its meal.  A zombie will not stop until its brain is destroyed.  It cannot be frightened.  It cannot be intimidated.  It cannot feel any pain.

One-on-one, a vampire would destroy a zombie.  Vampires are fast, agile, incredibly strong, and can think on their feet.  But when faced with a zombie horde or even an apocalypse, can vampires survive against an army of the undead?

VERSUS

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Analysis of Sept. 16, 2011 Reno Air Race Crash

The death toll from last Friday’s tragic crash at the Reno Air Races has officially reach eleven; seven dying at the crash site and four more succumbing to critical injuries and dying in the hospital.

So what happened to the aircraft?

Why did the veteran pilot suddenly pitch up in his modified P-51 Mustang, The Galloping Ghost, roll inverted and slam nose first into part of the spectator viewing area?

Right now the videos of the crash and its horrific aftermath don’t yield a whole lot of clues.  People recording the race were focused on many of the racing aircraft, and it’s hard to find a clear video of The Galloping Ghost.  And from what I’ve seen in the news, personal accounts of the accident match what little we can see in the amateur videos.

Fortunately for the NTSB and anybody else looking for answers, a few photos have surfaced and they actually shed quite a bit of light as to the final moments of The Galloping Ghost and veteran pilot, Jimmy Leeward.

Reno Air Race 2011 – The Galloping Ghost – before final race

Taken some point before its final race, here we can see The Galloping Ghost on the taxiway at Reno.  Inside the red circle you can clearly see pilot Jimmy Leeward sitting in his seat.  As a whole, cockpits for fighter aircraft are usually cramped with just enough room for the pilot to effectively move the controls and safely maneuver and navigate the aircraft. Read more…

“Deadliest Warrior” — S03E09 — Gurkha vs. French Foreign Legion

Deadliest Warrior — Season 03, Episode 09 — Gurkha versus French Foreign Legion

In this episode of Deadliest Warrior we have a match-up of two World War 2-era armies — neither of which are filled with troops born from the country that they serve.

Originally fighting against the British East India Company in the early 1800s, the fierce Gurkha soldiers from Nepal were later hired as mercenaries and fought for the British Crown and in the British Indian Army, seeing action everywhere from south Asia to the World War One battlefields in France, Turkey, and even Baghdad.  Although small in size, the Gurkhas’ Himalayan Mountain training gave them the physical conditioning to become tremendous warriors.

The French Foreign Legion, on the other hand, is an army filled with not only thugs and criminals, but many people wishing to re-start their life by serving in an army composed of the toughest of the tough.  The French Foreign Legion was created because after the 1830 July revolution, foreigners were forbidden from serving in the French Army.  The Foreign Legion’s purpose was to remove the disruptive elements from society (criminals, thugs, troublemakers, disbanded foreign regiments, etc.) and have them fight the enemies of France.  After serving in the Foreign Legion for three years, soldiers can apply for French citizenship providing they meet the requirements.

While the Gurkhas and French Foreign Legion have both been around since the early 1800s and are still in service today, this episode of Deadliest Warrior looks at both armies during their roles in World War 2 (1939-1945).

VERSUS

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Forever Lazy — A Marketing Review

What do you do when you’re cold and don’t want to turn up the thermostat?

• A) Do you build a fire in the fireplace?

• B) Do you wear extra layers of clothing like a sweater or sweatshirt?

• C) Do you wrap yourself in a blanket?

• D) Do you just go to bed and snuggle under the covers?

• E) Get yourself a — which one is it? — a Snuggie . . . . no, a Hoodie-Footie . . . . no.  Oh, wait a sec.  This one is called a Forever Lazy.  Yeah, that’s it.  I’m positive of the name this time.  Forever Lazy.  WTF?  Forever Lazy?  Really?!? Whatever.

According to the TV commercial that may inspire people to smash their head against a brick wall, the correct answer of course is, E) Slip into a Forever Lazy and show people your new sense of style.

Forever Lazy website — www.OrderForeverLazy.com

Believe it or not folks, but there is such a thing as an infant onesie for teenagers and adults.  The joy of walking around and being seen in public wearing a glorified infant bodysuit can be yours!

Forever Lazy – TV commercial — Note – This is an older version of the TV commercial as the current company website has a different final price and “free” bonus item.

Yes, folks, the Forever Lazy is a real product.  Having known absolutely nothing about it until seeing not one but two TV commercials for it today, I can safely say that this saddest and gloomiest days for me (first anniversary of a very tragic event) has been slightly improved by all the laughing I did at the commercial.

Let’s take a look at this TV commercial and see how the company does a ridiculous job marketing the Forever Lazy. Read more…

TROPICAL STORM MARIA – update #2

Bearing down on the Caribbean islands, TROPICAL STORM MARIA has shifted its track slightly to the west-northwest and has slowed to around 14 mph.

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As of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, TROPICAL STORM MARIA is currently 135 miles northeast of Barbados and about 275 miles east-southeast of Guadeloupe.  The tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of only 40 knots (45 mph) with gusts to 50 knots, barely keeping the storm classified as a tropical storm.  The storm’s minimum central pressure is 1003 mb. Read more…

TROPICAL STORM NATE – update #1

Over the past 24 hours, TROPICAL STORM NATE has better organized and strengthened, though as of the latest advisory the storm is still a tropical storm and not yet a hurricane.  It is now evident that the storm is going to strike central Mexico and not the southern U.S.

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The latest advisory by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, places TROPICAL STORM NATE about 140 miles west-northwest of Campeche, Mexico, and about 315 miles east of Tuxpan, Mexico.  The tropical cyclone has maximum sustained winds of 55 knots (65 mph) with gusts to 65 knots, and a minimum central pressure of 998 mb.

As we can see in the two photos, TROPICAL STORM NATE now has more of that classic hurricane look and you can start to see the development of an eye in the center of the storm.  The tropical cyclone is still sitting in the southern Gulf of Mexico and drifting to the northwest at about 3 mph. Read more…

“Deadliest Warrior” — S03E08 — Crazy Horse vs. Pancho Villa

Deadliest Warrior — Season 03, Episode 08 — Thasunke Witko (a.k.a. “Crazy Horse”) versus Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula (a.k.a. Pancho Villa)

In this episode of Deadliest Warrior, the leader of the Oglala Lakota Indians at the Battle of Little Bighorn takes on a Mexican revolutionary general who slaughtered dictators and later declared war on the United States.

Crazy Horse’s claim to fame is being one of the greatest Indian leaders in the Great Plains and fighter against U.S. troops.  He led war parties during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, and one of his biggest victories was the defeat of General Custer along with 268 U.S. troops at the Battle of Little Bighorn.  Specializing in ambushing and hit-and-run tactics, Crazy Horse was one of the bravest and fiercest Indians in American history.

A poor peasant turned vigilante then bandit and ultimately the leader of the rebellion army during the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa used guerrilla-style tactics to fight against the rich and corrupt in Mexico and gave the treasures to the peasants.  Fundraising techniques for his army involved everything from robbing trains and hacienda owners to holding people hostage and ransoming them for money.

VERSUS

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TROPICAL STORM MARIA – update #1

Over the past 24 hours, the storm path for TROPICAL STORM MARIA has shifted slightly to the west-southwest, and now all of a sudden the storm is looking a lot more interesting to those of us in the southeastern United States.

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The first image is pretty cool as the top of the screen has HURRICANE KATIA, the left side has TROPICAL STORM NATE in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and off to the far right in the Atlantic Ocean is TROPICAL STORM MARIA.

As of the latest public advisory, TROPICAL STORM MARIA is still about 600 miles east of the Windward Islands and tearing across the ocean on a due west track at about 22 mph.  As fast as the storm is moving, the tropical cyclone is still not that well organized or strong.  The maximum sustained winds are only 40 knots (46 mph), gusting to 50 knots, and with a minimum central pressure of 1006 mb. Read more…

TROPICAL STORM NATE – A First Look

Spiraling and gathering strength in the southern Gulf of Mexico is TROPICAL STORM NATE, the latest named storm of the 2011 hurricane season.

As of the latest public advisory, TROPICAL STORM NATE is about 120 miles west of Campeche, Mexico, and 175 miles northeast of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico.  The tropical cyclone has maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (60 mph) with gusts to 55 knots.  The storm’s minimum central pressure is 1000 mb.

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The exact path of TROPICAL STORM NATE is still a bit of a mystery.  While the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, has the storm curving to the north and then northwest, its forecast position after Friday morning is going to be anybody’s guess.  As you can see in the second image, depending on which computer model you use it appears that TROPICAL STORM NATE could strike Mobile, Alabama or central Louisiana in the U.S., or it may swing to the west and strike central Mexico.  It’s almost like the computer models are throwing up their hands and saying, “I give up!” Read more…

HD Vision Aviators Sunglasses — A Marketing Review

In the world of sunglasses you have the cheap and then the fashionable.

Anybody can go to the store and grab a cheap pair of sunglasses.  Spend $10 and if they get lost or broken, it’s no big deal.

Other people have high standards and want to wear a particular designer brand or style.  Those sunglasses are much more expensive and can be anywhere from $80 to over $200 a pair.  But that’s paying for quality and style.

HD Vision Aviators sunglasses website — www.getHDaviators.com

And then you have sunglasses like HD Vision Aviators that want people to believe that they can have both quality and style for an ultra-low price.  But does the TV commercial go too far when pushing that idea?

Check out the TV commercial and see for yourself if this sounds like an honest product or more like a scam.

HD Vision Aviators sunglasses — official TV commercial

Oh my.  Where do we start with a commercial like this one? Read more…

TROPICAL STORM MARIA – A First Look

The latest named storm in the 2011 hurricane season is TROPICAL STORM MARIA.

Still waaaaaay out to sea in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and over 1,300 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, TROPICAL STORM MARIA has maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (50 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 1003 mb.  The tropical cyclone is racing almost due west at around 23 mph.

The official forecast by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, is calling for TROPICAL STORM MARIA to continue tracking to the west and make a slight turn to the northwest by this weekend, skirting the northern islands in the Lesser Antilles and passing north of Puerto Rico. Read more…

HURRICANE KATIA – update #2

Still spinning and churning up the Atlantic Ocean, HURRICANE KATIA is still a Category 1 storm and about to pass between the U.S. and Bermuda.

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As of right now the storm has maximum sustained winds of 75 knots (85 mph) with gusts to 90 knots.  The hurricane has a minimum central pressure of 978 mb.  And as of the latest advisory, HURRICANE KATIA is tracking to the northwest at about 10 mph.

So will HURRICANE KATIA hit the United States?  Should we be concerned about this tropical cyclone? Read more…

College Football 2011 — Let The Games Begin!

This is it!

It’s finally arrived!

COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK!  HOORAY!

After waiting all winter, making it through the spring, and counting down the days through the brutally hot summer, the wait is finally finished.

College football games already started on Thursday.  My school dominated its opponent on the road.  There were two more games tonight.  Baylor just defeated TCU after the horned frogs made a Herculean comeback and briefly held the lead in the fourth quarter.  And tomorrow, the first Saturday of the college football season, is FULL of college football action from noon ’til midnight.

Yes, my friends, college football is BACK!  🙂

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

Miss. State is my alma mater.  I’ve been a diehard bulldog fan since being accepted by the university back in the spring of 1998.  Bully is a cool bulldog and the town of Starkville will always hold a special meaning to me.

Being a bulldog fan now is more exciting than ever.  Head coach Dan Mullen is an offensive MASTERMIND, a true genius in the sport.  With his leadership and tactics the football team has improved by leaps and bounds.  “National Championship” has never been in the vocabulary for my school’s football team (best of luck to anybody who thinks they can conquer the SEC West), but to have a consistently good football team capable of beating that team up north and winning in bowl games is acceptable enough by many of us bulldog fans. Read more…

TROPICAL STORM LEE – update #2

TROPICAL DEPRESSION #13 has continued to strengthen overnight and all day today, officially making it TROPICAL STORM LEE.

As of right now the tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1003 mb.  The center of rotation is still about 185 southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River despite the fact that outer bands of rain are already soaking the Louisiana coast and heading inland.  TROPICAL STORM LEE is slowly drifting almost due north at about 2 miles per hour.

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The official storm path forecast from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, has TROPICAL STORM LEE making a right turn continuing to head north and then making a right turn to the east once it makes landfall.    There’s a bit of a discrepancy as to where exactly the tropical storm will go over Louisiana, but the models are in general consensus with the storm cutting across southern Mississippi and then central to northeastern Alabama by Wednesday. Read more…

TROPICAL DEPRESSION #13 / TROPICAL STORM LEE – An Initial Look

Over the past 12 or so hours, the incredibly large and slow moving bunch of storms in the Gulf of Mexico has official developed into TROPICAL DEPRESSION #13.

Yeah, I know.  Really scary.  Ooooooooooh!

Take note that TROPICAL DEPRESSION #13 is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm and will be TROPICAL STORM LEE at some point on Friday.  Maximum sustained winds are 35 mph (a tropical storm has 39-73 mph winds), and the minimum central pressure is 1007 mb.

As of right now the tropical cyclone is still 225 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River.  It’s generally believed that the storm is slowly drifting to the northwest at around 2 miles per hour, though it’s hard to tell without an exact center to the cyclone.

TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS are in effect from Sabine Pass, Texas eastward to Pascagoula, Mississippi.  This warning includes Lake Pontchartrain and the city of New Orleans. Read more…

HURRICANE KATIA – update #1

Last night the Atlantic tropical cyclone Katia strengthened from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane.

Right now HURRICANE KATIA has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (65 knots) with a minimum central pressure of 987 mb.  According to the discussion at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL, upper-level wind shear and dry air entering into the circulation of the storm will restrain further strengthening over the next 24-36 hours.  After that the forecast looks favorable again for steady strengthening as the hurricane tracks west-northwest over the warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of right now, HURRICANE KATIA is still about a thousand miles east of the northern Lesser Antilles and waaaaay out to sea in the Atlantic Ocean.  The storm is still tracking due west at about 18 mph though it is expected to slow its pace and make a turn to the west-northwest in the next 12-24 hours.

While the slight turn to the northwest is generally agreed upon in the weather models, what happens after that is still a bit of a mystery.  The strength of a trough over the northeastern United States and the forecast position of a subtropical high are the two main factors here within the next 4-5 days.  Depending on how things play out the storm could be heading into the northern Atlantic or it could be heading towards the southeast U.S. or Gulf of Mexico. Read more…

“Deadliest Warrior” – S03E07 – Ivan the Terrible vs. Hernan Cortes

Deadliest Warrior — Season 03, Episode 07 — Ivan the Terrible versus Hernan Cortes (a.k.a Hernando Cortez)

Ivan the Terrible ruled Russia with an iron fist from 1533 to 1584.  Mentally abused as a child, a passionate follower of his religion, and a victim to episodic outbreaks of mental health problems, all of those were factors as Ivan conquered lands and transformed Russia from a simple nation state into an emerging regional powerhouse.  As brilliantly as he built the Russia empire and was crowned Tsar of All Russia, Ivan was infamously known for his brutal mental disorders and killing sprees of both friend and foe.

Going against Ivan the Terrible is the cunning and brutal conqueror of Mexico and the Aztec Empire, Hernan Cortes.  An adventurer and soldier of fortune, Cortes waged a personal vendetta to conquer Mexico and destroy the Aztec Empire.  Cortes was also known for his brutality against the Indians and torturous methods of acquiring information and seeking gold.

VERSUS

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