2012 has started off with several new memes. One that is to making the most traction, particularly on Youtube, is a video series that starts with Sh*t_______ People Say. The _____ is filled with some type of or a certain group of people. Listed below are a few of the ones that I have found:

Sh*t Yogis Say:

Sh*t White Girls Say To Black Girls:

Sh*t Skiers Say:

Sh*t Vegans Say:

2012 is going to be a GREAT year!

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Doc Brown is about to meet SkyNet's finest.

The Internet is the place to go for ridiculous videos and fan-fiction, so why not take both and put them into a single awesome trailer? The website How It Should End does just that. They take your favorite movies and change the lame sissy Hollywood endings for something… shall we say more interesting (sometimes).

There may be nothing better than to see the over-milked world of Marty McFly and Doc Brown crossover into the over-milked world of the Terminator franchise. I know what you’re thinking, do we really need another bastardization of Robert Zemeckis’ classic Back to the Future? Or perhaps you’re thinking, I can’t believe people still identify with Aaaahnold even though the orignal Terminator came out before most of the kids today were even born. Regardless, I say remake all the 80s and 90s franchises you want, but only if you add ass kickin’.

When the terrible Aaaahnold impersonator says Biff’s line at the end, it seems like my past was altered into a new timeline where that was reality; the Terminator had always spoken that line… even though he sounds stupid when he says it wrong. But then again that can’t be his fault, he’s just a machine.

What’s next? The Matrix meets Big Trouble in Little China? Try and wrap your head around that superb piece of flash-cinema glory.

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My dad sent me this link to an ABC News clip claiming that US cities are hiring Chinese instead of American workers for building projects. I’m pretty moderate in most ways, but in this one I’m a hard liner and I can’t believe the citizens are allowing this kind of pathetic decision making to take place.

YES! I blame the citizens! It is our own apathy that allows this to occur. Some decision maker somewhere is thinking about how to cover his ass and asking questions like:

• How fast can we get this job done? Because if it drags on and on, people are going to have my ass!
• How much is this going to cost? Because it it’s too much, people are going to have my ass!

It’s no wonder they choose a cheaper, faster workforce that is state-owned, who don’t pay workers very much, and without as much regard for their workforce’s safety! In every way the decision maker will be judged, it saves their ass!

Except one…

The citizens need to make it 100% clear in no uncertain terms that:

• They don’t care if it costs a little more.
• They don’t care if it takes a little longer.
• They are willing to do the work, and do it in a quality manner!

The economics are very simple, and by keeping these projects and jobs within our economy the money spent has a huge multiplier effect. On top of that, even if the US companies are slower and less efficient at the moment, after they complete one or two of these projects they’ll get more experience and be up to speed on the next ones!

The bottom line is, if you keep farming out our projects to people who might be better at them today, we’ll become entirely dependent on them, lose the skill set, and never be able to win one in the future!

The argument that we lack skilled workers is absolute crap! Even if that was the case all it takes is one special visa to allow them to come here from other countries and we’d solve it in about 1 week.

Does this piss you off as much as it does me?

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The average person knows the basic stuff about solar energy, for example, what it is and the fact that it’s considered better for the environment than other forms of energy.

Almost every country in the world has at least 2 percent of energy that is solar energy; however, there are several facts about solar energy that not everyone is aware of.

1. Germany Uses the Most Solar Energy

Many people think that the United States uses the most solar energy out of all the countries in the world. This is mainly due to the fact that solar energy development increased more in the United States during the year 2008 than in any other country. Of course, this created the impression that United States would continue to develop solar energy and eventually become the country that used it the most.

However, contrary to popular belief, it is actually Germany that has grown to be the world’s leader when it comes to solar energy. Almost 50 percent of Germany’s energy is solar energy, and it is aiming to have 100 percent solar power by 2050.

2. Einstein Was Involved in Solar Energy

You probably know that Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921, but not a lot of people know that the reason he won it was related to the installation of solar energy. Einstein explained the photoelectric effect and wrote a thesis about it in 1905 – years before he won the Nobel Prize.

The photoelectric effect is the principle behind what produces solar power. While Einstein’s theory became popular, it wasn’t proven until 1915, 10 years later. Albert Einstein conducted several important experiments with some of the earliest solar panels.

3. Solar Energy Will Eventually Be Free

Although solar energy systems are expensive to buy at first, after a few years, you will be getting free energy all the time. It is estimated that solar energy systems pay for themselves in five years, which means after that, all the electricity you receive will be free.

If you get a lot of sunshine to your home and you have the liberty to install a solar panel, it’s highly recommended that you do. Not only will it save money in the long term, but it’s also much better for the environment.

4. Use Solar Energy Where There’s Not Much Sunshine

It’s a common misconception that solar energy can only be used where there’s a lot of sunshine. However, this is not entirely true. The solar energy systems that you can purchase today can be used even in places where there’s not much sunshine.

When the sun is shining, the solar panel will store the excess energy that it doesn’t need at that particular moment. Of course, this means that when the sun isn’t shining, there’s stored energy that can be used.

5. It’s Good for the Economy

Believe it or not, solar energy is good for the economy. Well, it’s not solar energy directly that’s so good for the economy; it’s the effects it has on society that boosts the economy. Owing to the increasing demand worldwide for solar energy panels, businesses are requiring employees to help install these panels on homes, factories and various other buildings.

The demand for solar energy employees is mainly in the United States, where solar power is rapidly increasing. However, the problem that the country is faced with is the fact that there are not enough qualified people to fill the jobs available.

6. Get Paid for Your Solar Energy!

Not only can you save money by installing a solar energy system, but you can also earn money from it! Net metering is the process whereby electric companies buy solar energy from you. If you get a system that stores the excess energy that is procured from the sun, you can sell this to electric companies and easily make enough money to get back the cost of the solar energy system. Instead of paying the electric companies thousands of dollars each year, they’ll be paying you!

Conclusion

Solar energy has lots of benefits, and the obvious one for most people is how much money you can save and make by using it. Of course, there aren’t so many things that people don’t even know about solar energy! If you’ve studied solar energy or make money from it, leave your stories in the comments for others to read.

Image Credit: 1.

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I was browsing through imgur and saw the following image that tells a really heart-warming story. It seems that a user named [HarpoonIPA] on the Grimrock.net forums made a post asking if old-school dungeon-crawler style buttons might be included in the game. The responding dev [Petri] made note that they did not have a UI like that currently set up but, made sure to ask his customer why he wanted such an old-school control scheme. [HarpoonIPA] responded noting that he had a disability and stated that he used a mouth stick to control games. The old-school control style made it easier for him to play. So what did [Petri] do? He immediately implemented an entirely new UI option for one, single user.

This is game development done right. This man listened to his one customer that had a modest request and took it upon himself to make that customer happy. I am truly inspired by this. I wish this company nothing but the best of luck and will be purchasing their game purely based on this story alone. I tried to contact the developers of the game, but unfortunately their site is down at the moment. Presumably due to the torrent of attention I am sure it must be getting. If I am able to get in touch with for comments I will update this post.

Read below for the discussion as it took place between the user and the dev.

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With all the of things that President Barack Obama has to take care of, you wonder how he can keep so calm. Well it likely has to do with the help of his anger translator.

Where’s My Mayo:

Obama Loses His SH*T:

Martin Luther King Day:

Michelle Calls Barack:

Key & Peele On Comedy Central. Great Duo!

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With the Super Bowl coming to Indianapolis, Indiana in a less than two weeks (I live just south of Indianapolis), there are many a commercial that are submitted to get played during the Super Bowl.

A local film making group headed by David Ward got one of their commercial submissions rejected for the Super Bowl. However, they are spearheading an effort to get the Super Bowl Committee to reconsider:

They have my vote! :)

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The PROTECT-IP Act is a bill that has been introduced in the Senate and the House and is moving quickly through Congress. It is scheduled to go before the Senate on January 24, 2012. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he plans to bring it up on the first day the Senate is back in session.

It gives the government and corporations the ability to censor the net, in the name of protecting “creativity”. The law would let the government or corporations censor entire sites – they just have to convince a judge that the site is “dedicated to copyright infringement.”

Additional Research

Rather than sit here and give you MY opinions, I want to refer you to external sources of verification so you can develop your own. For the record though, I believe this bill is the greatest threat to the Internet the world has ever seen.

• 130 Internet Founders Sign Letter Opposing PIPA
• Senator Wyden’s Call to Arms
• SOPATrack.com
• A Google Document List of SOPA/PIPA Supporters
• WordPress Official Position on SOPA/PIPA

These Bills Won’t Work!

I’m all for protection of copyrighted materials, I mean, I’ve written nearly 2,000 articles here on this very blog and I get frustrated when other sites blatantly mirror my content. But if you try and stop one, another will pop up instantly.

Mark my words, you’ll never stop piracy. NEVER! And, despite what uneducated executives and legislators think about the “losses”, even Bill Gates acknowledged that piracy isn’t all bad:

“Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, people don’t pay for the software. Someday they will, though,” Gates told an audience at the University of Washington. “And as long as they’re going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”

The only thing that will happen with a law like this is that it will create a new “Alter-Net” where tools are developed to service a black market of hosting, information, and illegal activity. (And by the way, it already exists! We’ll just make it more powerful.)

What YOU Can Do to Help!

It’s so simple. You NEED to contact your congressperson, AND you need to help spread the word to let others do so as well. Remember, ALL of the members of the House who are supporting PIPA are up for re-election, and 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election.

Here is a list of congress people who are openly in support of this bill. (These are the people who are going to ruin the world as we know it.)

Congress Members Who Support PIPA

• Mark Amodei [NV2]
• Joe Baca [CA43]
• John Barrow [GA12]
• Karen Bass [CA33]
• Howard Berman [CA28]
• Marsha Blackburn [TN7]
• Mary Bono Mack [CA45]
• John Carter [TX31]
• Steven Chabot [OH1]
• Judy Chu [CA32]
• John Conyers [MI14]
• Jim Cooper [TN5]
• Ted Deutch [FL19]
• Elton Gallegly [CA24]
• Robert Goodlatte [VA6]
• Tim Griffin [AR2]
• Tim Holden [PA17]
• Peter King [NY3]
• John Larson [CT1]
• Ben Lujan [NM3]
• Thomas Marino [PA10]
• Alan Nunnelee [MS1]
• William Owens [NY23]
• Ben Quayle [AZ3]
• Dennis Ross [FL12]
• Steve Scalise [LA1]
• Adam Schiff [CA29]
• Brad Sherman [CA27]
• Lee Terry [NE2]
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz [FL20]
• Melvin Watt [NC12]

And here’s the list of Senators who are both supporters of PIPA and are up for re-election in 2012. Wikipedia lists who’s already registered to challenge them.

• Ben Cardin [Maryland]
• Bob Casey [Pennsylvania]
• Bob Corker [Tennessee]
• Dianne Feinstein [California]
• Kristen Gillibrand [New York]
• Orrin Hatch [Utah]
• Amy Klobuchar [Minnesota]
• Bob Menendez [New Jersey]
• Bill Nelson [Florida]
• Sheldon Whitehouse [Rhode Island]

You can see a list of people running against these folks in the Senate, and The House of Representatives in case you’d like to find out who to vote for in the next elections.

The Bottom Line

I can guarantee you that this bill will affect free speech on the Internet. Big companies with revenues to protect won’t stand up against it once its passed, they’ll comply with the law. Small sites who are willing to stand against it will be taken off line. It will create online wars, turn normal citizens into criminals, and destroy the Web as we know it. It is wrong. It must be stopped.

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Living in Central Indiana my entire life, I have numerous close calls with driving on ice while in traffic. In fact, I had a person spin out literally in front of me during a snowstorm here in Central Indiana back on February 5, 2010:

Fortunately, that all happened in slower speeds. However, a few weeks ago in West Virgina, this incident below happened on an interstate with much higher speeds and true zero visibility. In this case, the results for the driver of the camera fortunately were good, but not for the guy trying to stop right next to him:

Keep in mind, this was during just a brief snow squall. Those things can be exceptionally dangerous in that they are so brief and it usually clears up quickly after they pass.

But folks, this winter has been a bit on the unusual side when it comes to snowfall, especially in the Eastern Part Of The Unites States. The winter is NOT over yet! Please be careful out there!

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All the grandparents I had growing up were quite cool to be around. This kid’s grandma though takes the cake as she is RAPPING with him to music from the group Rack City:

Go Grandma, Yo Yo :)

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Check out this amazing activity that is done at this Lithuanian Water Park where you literally climb into these pods if you will in a sitting position. Once you pull yourself up and start to move, you literally can walk on the water!

Jesus would be proud :)

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Google’s legal battle in support of their efforts to scan books and make them available through their Google Bookstore has been going on for years.

News about the conflict has been scarce of late while Google and the association of authors and publishers have tried to work out a settlement agreement.

The parties did come to an agreement back in 2008 that would have worked to their mutual advantage, but backlash against it convinced the judge presiding over the case to reject the settlement.

The latest development is a strong one; Google is now moving to have the Authors Guild removed from the proceedings on the grounds copyright infringement suits must be filed by the copyright holders. This should sound familiar to anyone who kept an eye on the trials and tribulations of Righthaven, the copyright troll who brought nothing but misery upon themselves in trying to bring infringement suits against various bloggers and websites when they didn’t own the copyright to the material they were suing over.

I have a personal sort of fascination with this case and have been keeping an eye on it since the story started up years ago. It has lately become even more important to me, as I’ve shifted my focus more and more towards writing full time myself.

My approach to copyright is vastly different than the one taken by the Authors Guild and individual artists suing Google. I’m a believer in the path taken by Cory Doctorow and Scott Sigler among others, that if you freely give your work away, it amounts to the best advertising you don’t have to buy and will, somewhat ironically, increase sales.

The Author’s Guild and individual artists are in a very different position than writers like I am in; they have something to lose. They’re invested in the old publishing and distribution model, and so they feel, rightly or wrongly, that Google’s scanning ways are a threat. It’ll be interesting to see how this all shakes out; Google is likely to make fair use claims before the end of the year, or early in 2013.

(via Ars Technica)

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Playing online games can be a great way to pass the time. It can also be a great way to meet new people, as well as, having fun by yourself, or with others. You can play a solo game, or play with people from around the world. There are several types of online games, but the main two types of online games people are familiar with are the ones where you can play directly within a browser window, and the ones where you have to download the game.

There are also hybrids where you have to download a client, but the actual gameplay is still online. Regardless of what type of game you choose to check out, here are a few tips on choosing an online game that is right for you.

• Check out the graphics of the game. You can have splotches due to internet lag time, but if graphics are constantly overlapping each other, or if they fade in and out, then you may want to let the game organizers know.
• Since most games are fairly new, it will be understandable if there aren’t a lot of people playing at one time. Use this time to get familiar with the game world. Also, if you like the game, tell your friends about it, and invite them to check it out.
• Be sure to understand if you playing on a PvP, or a PvE, or a combination so that you don’t upset people for killing them off when they were looking just to play around the game environment.
• Learn how to level up before you get too far into a game so that you don’t spend too much time doing quests or fighting battles that won’t help you advance to the next level.
• Have fun! Don’t take whatever game you play too seriously. You want to get things done, but at the same time enjoy the experience while you’re there.

Here are some great online games that you should check out. Please note that there is a mixture of both browser based, and client side games.

Batheo

Batheo is a browser-based strategy game, set in ancient Greece, where players govern cities of various sizes, and command armies that engage in wars on medium to large scales.

Unlike most strategy games that focus mostly on planning, managing populations, and dealing with city politics, Batheo puts a strong emphasis on developing your character through combat, although managing and growing a city is also very important in order to be successful in this game. Players have the option of either exploring the terrain of this online world alone, or amongst the ranks of a chosen league.

During combat, players can create formations for their soldiers to march in, as well as, choose which soldiers will lead the formation, and what weapons will be used by the formation. Players will find this feature very useful, although care should be taken to not over think what formations, and weapons to use during combat.

The building system is unique in that buildings are created, and upgraded instantly. This helps immensely in regards to how much time would be wasted trying to fight a war while constructing buildings at the same time (something that was an issue in the 2D versions of Blizzard’s Warcraft series). Conquering neighboring cities, and capturing farmland also add an element of chaotic intrigue into the fascinating fantasy world that is Batheo.

Wizard101

Wizard101 gives you a chance to be a wizard in training as you go through the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts. Although this game was inspired by the Harry Potter books, it does have a style and character all its own. With Headmaster Ambrose providing you guidance as you journey through this game, players can go through wizard training either alone, or with other training wizards.

The combat scenes are well done, and provide many visuals for players to take in. During the combat scenes, training wizards are pulled into a magical ring where the combatants duel by using spell cards previously chosen by the combatants. The types of spells available to combatants are numerous consisting of Fire, Ice, Storm, and Balance, just to name a few.

Although the game centers around a magic theme, Wizard101 is kid friendly, and has several safeguards in place that covers every aspect of the game in order to ensure that game play remains somewhat G-rated (including naming the characters, discussions, and the chat room).

Even with the safeguards in place, this game still has the ability to hold a player’s interest and attention. Fun cartoon style characters and a helpful voiced over tutorial adds much to the overall look and feel of Wizard101.

Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic is set in the fantasy world of Taborea, and comes equipped with a vast array of eye-catching 3D graphics. With an ever expanding player base of over 2 million, those who choose to venture into this fantasy world will find many well developed areas to explore. Players will also find the over 600 quests to choose from both intriguing and mentally stimulating.

Other key features of Runes of Magic are an innovative multi-class system, player housing in-game, distinctive player customization, and well evolved dungeon encounters.

Players have the ability to choose between eight different character classes and two character races when creating their character for this game. An unusual characteristic of Runes of Magic is that characters get to keep their skills even if a player switches character classes.

Another noteworthy feature is its dual-classing system, which allows players to pick a second class when their game character reaches level ten. With character classes such as warrior, rogue, and priest to choose from, players of this game will be able to find the right kind of character for their playing style.

This game focuses mainly on PvP combat, and has a “monster card” system where players can pick up skill cards from defeated enemies. Runes of Magic also allows players to have magical pets that can travel with the player, and even participate in battles depending upon the pet’s characteristics.

Battlestar Galactica Online

Battlestar Galactica was a very popular television show during the 70s, and was revived and ran again from 2004 to 2009. Now people can relive the excitement of this show through the online game – a game that attracted over 2 million registered users within the first three months of its release. Gamers can play Battlestar Galactica Online as either a human or as one of the Cylon robots.

Gameplay centers around piloting your ship, and the type of ships available to you will depend on the type of character you have chosen. The key to succeeding at this online game is collecting resources as quickly as possible. These resources will be used to upgrade to more powerful battleships.

In the game, you have three types of ships to choose from: line (heavily armored ships), escorts (medium artillery ships), and strike (fighter ships/small craft vessels). Well polished 3D visuals makes the ingenious missions come to life, while the various combat modes keeps things even more interesting for the player. For those who like online games that center around space battles, Battlestar Galactica Online is definitely a game you will want to check out.

DarkOrbit

DarkOrbit is a space battle game where players can battle it out with either human, or non-human players. With over 65 million registered users, new players will easily find someone that can give them a good battle. As the game begins, players can choose between three companies to partner with: Venus Resources Unlimited (VRU), Earth Industries Corporation (EIC), and Mars Mining Operations (MMO). A short tutorial is shown before players are teleported to the choosen home world game map.

The object of the game is to acquire wealth and power both for yourself and the company to which you’ve pledged allegiance. You improve your rank in this game by battling in space, and gaining experience from your battles. You can also improve your rank by upgrading your ship, and destroying enemies of your company.

DarkOrbit uses a real-time combat system that allows for the use of a variety of weapons. Rockets, laser cannons, and high tech mines are all at your disposal in order to eliminate the competition. The weapons within this game use a targeting system that is activated by clicking on a chosen target. If an enemy is destroyed, a special cargo box appears that contains any ore that was carried by the destroyed opponent. If the destroyed ship is a player, it will cost 500 uridium to repair the ship, although the ship started with in the game is free to repair. Players can play alone or join a clan after passing various requirements. Overall, DarkOrbit presents a great adventure for those who love games set in outer space.

XBlaster

XBlaster is a futuristic machine battle game set in 2053. The earth’s resources became vastly depleted, leading to an all out global war. Once the war ended, not much was left of the earth with most of the land destroyed. Machines became the way of life, and now the remaining survivors of earth use mechanical monsters of destruction to battle in The Arena.

There are different planetary worlds to choose from, and different mech warriors to fight with. You can compete in tournament battles, or in the big Jackpot Battle which is open to everyone. There are also special worlds to compete on that are only open for a limited time period. You never know what’s going to happen when you play on one of the special worlds, but one thing is for sure – whatever happens, it will be worth your while to compete.

One of the special things about this game is the ability to have co-players. You can create one account, and have other people that can play with you through one user name, and password. Makes it much easier to have your friends join you in a game (but choose who you play with carefully, since these same people will also have access to your account’s payment area).

Amazing graphics, and great playing areas definitely make XBlaster a game worth checking out.

SeaFight

SeaFight is a pirate themed browser based game that pits players against monsters, and each other as they fight to gain the most treasure. Although there is some land combat, the majority of battles will take place on the open seas. Fighting against other players presents lots of challenge in order to keep things interesting, but for those that are not into PvP combat, there are a variety of monsters to fight against, as well. As players gain experience and level up, much more challenging monsters will appear.

Any game that features sea battles, must have cannon fire in order to keep the feel of the game as real as possible, and SeaFight is no exception. Cannons are the primary weapon used in SeaFight, each cannon having the ability to fire various types of ammo. There are also a few weapons that can be used by the pirate which influences the success of a player attempting to board an enemy ship.

Two types of currency rules SeaFight – gold and pearls. Gold is the more common of the two currencies and is gained by defeating opposing players, and the various monsters that abound in this game. Pearls are much harder to come by, and tend to be found in scarce amounts throughout the game map. For those who do not wish to wait to find pearls, this difficult to find currency can be purchased using real money. Gold, and pearls are used to purchase various upgrades within the game. Players can either play alone or within a guild.

A Guild can be formed once a player has reached Level 6 in the game, and works similarly to clans in other multi-player online games. Once a guild has been formed, people can be invited to join the guild, and an updated list of who is in what guild is available for other players to look through. Guilds also have the special distinction of being able to fortify guild islands and set them up as a base of operations. If you’re into pirates, and fighting on the high seas, then SeaFight is just the game for you.

Farmerama

For those who want to take their love of Farmville even further, you’re in luck with Farmerama. Hailed as the ultimate farming simulator, players can grow and harvest crops and raise animals. By completing a vast array of chores and delivery orders, players can level up and gain access to much more advanced crops, and rare farm animals that are only available after reaching a certain level.

Players can add each other as neighbors, and from there neighbors can help each other clear land to make it suitable for farming. Players can also give their neighbors gifts, and experience points to help them level up their characters. Each player begins with a simple farm which can be expanded upon and customized depending on where a player chooses to place their decorations, animal pens, and crops. Players can also purchase seeds, and expand their buildings by visiting “The City”. Items within “The City” can be purchased with either country coins (in-game money) or barnyard bills (real world money). There is also a farmers market where players go to buy or sell their crops, and other merchandise. Players have the ability to plant various crops, but only after the ground has been properly tilled.

Once the land has been properly prepared, seeds can be planted. Over time, the seeds transform into crops that can be harvested for experience points, or saved for use in delivery orders. The growth of your crops can be sped up by using water on the land before the crop is fully grown. If an animal pen is built on the land, animals can be raised and given food and water until they reach maturity. Once fully grown, the animals can be used for delivery orders or offered for sale at the farmers market. Experience points can be gained from harvesting crops, and / or raising animals. If you love the challenge of Farmville, and looking for something even more engrossing (and time consuming), then Farmerama is definitely the game for you.

Online games are great to play, and one of the best things about them is that they tend to be easy to set up so you can get started playing quickly. The above games are definitely worth checking out, however, if you wish to find even more games, you can check out this site with both downloadable games, and browser based games.

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With the many different views during and after the attacks on the World Trade Center, I truly thought I had seen every angle, view, video, etc. However, recently I was made aware of a much different view of the attacks on the World Trade Center: From The International Space Station:

Amazing that it looks so very small from up there and yet is one of the worst disasters in world history.

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I’m a sucker for creativity and crazy technical skills when it comes to food (or anything for that matter). So I compiled a list of fantastically creative Gingerbread “Houses” and creations for the holidays. Some of these have tutorials so you may make them on your own, while others are just edible masterpieces that looks far too impressive to munch down on.  

Since the range of the houses is so big, this gallery of Gingerbread Houses are not in any particular order.  Enjoy this feast of Gingerbread!

Happy Holidays from everyone at Livid Lobster!

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I’ve seen Santa Claus in many places over the years. I’ve seen him on top of floats during parades, used to visit him on the coal train that used to go through the town I used to live in years ago, Holiday World In Santa Claus, Indiana has their own resident Santa.

But recently I got to see Santa in a truly different way: Riding A Motor Cycle!:

He don’t need no reindeer these days ;) Holiday Holidays All!

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If you have been on a site like Lamebook or Damn You Auto Correct, you have seen amusing screenshots submitted by users who have seen funny things occur on their Facebook wall, on Twitter or though texts. They can be very amusing, sometimes cringe worthy and always entertaining.

But did you know that quite often they are fake? This is obvious from time to time, when little mistakes – or big ones – give it away. When that happens, you might be wondering how they went about making the fake ones in the first place. The answer to this is through tools that have been made to simulate these screenshots.

Here are five of the most popular tools for faking Facebook and Twitter wall posts, texts and even news stories.

Fake Convos

This is one of the easier fake Facebook convo/newsfeed generators available. It works by letting you log in using your existing Facebook account. You then browse through available profile images, such as Barack Obama, Snooki, Tiger Woods or Bart Simpson. Or, you can paste in a URL to get a photo from a web page. Then, you type in a comment and add it to the stream. You just keep adding while it creates a screenshot with each submission. The end result is very realistic.

Noob

Do you want to trick your friends into thinking a piece of news is real? This is a generator that creates fake news pieces that can be customized by you. The screencap resembles a real news site, such as “The Bluffington Post,” using the same layout as The Huffington Post. There are different ads, links and videos added in to make it look more genuine. You can choose from a list of preset headlines, such as “Wins the 2011 X Games, Breaks Back” or “Sued for Illegally Downloading Music, Movies, Porn.”

The Wall Machine

This is another cool fake Facebook wall generator. It works by giving you a basic status message box. By clicking various parts of the box, you are able to customize it. This means changing the name, the status message and the person who ‘likes’ it, and adding additional comments. You can easily upload photos for the profile pictures, as well. The end result is indistinguishable from real Facebook screenshots.

iFakeText

This is a text generator that creates iPhone screeshots like you see on Damn You Auto Correct, or Parents Shouldn’t Text. You put the name of the other person in the Name section, then write it like the following.

Person Who’s Phone It Is: Message

Other Person: Message

It will create a real-looking iPhone screeshot that you can save or share. You can select either Verizon or AT&T as the provider. There is no watermark.

Fake Tweet Builder

You use this one to create a fake Twitter feed screenshot. Each person in the conversation is put in a list form, like this:

Jackie_Chan: I am going to be in the new live action Sesame Street movie!

ChrisTucker: @Jackie_Chan who you playing man?

Jackie_Chan: @ChrisTucker Big Bird!

Then you can customize things like the color, the Twitter ID inclusion, background images and more. If you don’t check the box to allow you to see the names, it will censor them. All pictures are automatically blurred, and it doesn’t allow you to upload your own, which is a little disappointing.

Conclusion

Making fake Twitter, Facebook, news or text screencaps is a lot of fun. It is also very easy, thanks to these brilliant tools that make it fast and simple to do anything you could possibly want.

What are some of your favorite fake screenshot tools? Let us know in the comments!

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Notorious B.I.G. was a well known rapper until his death on March 9, 1997 via a drive by shooting. For all of the hits that he was known for, chances are he probably never thought that his music could help in this very unique way as shown in this video.

The parents of this adorable baby that they named Rachel would simply not calm down when really upset. However, they would start playing the music of Notorious B.I.G. and almost instantly Rachel would stop crying!!

Amazingly, my kids would calm down when they were babies too but not from B.I.G.’s music, but by me singing softly to them he he :)

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“We are a way for the universe to know itself.” – Carl Sagan

This quote is perhaps one of the most important that I have ever heard. I had heard it many times and even understood it as a boy but, not until the past few years did I truly come to comprehend what it meant.

Hidden in this brief line of eloquence was a profound observation of our universe that encompassed everything from astrophysics to what it means to be human.

A Popular View

Image courtesy of xkcd.com

I am an atheist. Depending on the socio-cultural circles that you move in, you may not care for that statement very much or, you may be pleased to hear it. It does not define me entirely as a person but, it is a very important aspect of who I am and how I approach the world. When I say that I am an atheist, a popular image of me is immediately cast in the minds of many people; that of a cynical, mean-spirited and, immoral science zealot. I was recently told by a family friend that it is not possible to be a skeptical person and maintain a healthy imagination because, someone who is constantly questioning and looking for empirical evidence of everything will miss the loftier human angles of the question.

Essentially the sentiment was that if I am not willing to take things at face value then I will never understand the warmth, wonder and, magic of the human experience. I could launch into a tirade here about how this represents a false dichotomy and demonstrate that the two are not mutually exclusive but, I feel that my point may be better served by presenting my position in a deeper, warmer and, more human manner.

In the Beginning

Image courtesy of WikiCommons.

Our universe is infinitely beautiful in its intricacies. It exists as an ever changing, ever deepening well of information for us. On the surface, it functions according to natural laws that describe how its contents exist and interact with each other. These laws, in an intriguing mirror of the things that they describe, seem to break down into infinite minutia.

After the ‘Big Bang’ these laws would eventually produce great, glowing objects known to us as stars. At the heart of these stars, hydrogen atoms would fuse together and create new atoms of carbon, oxygen and, helium as well as all other heavy elements in the universe. By the function of the natural laws that governed them, these stars would eventually run out of fuel, swell to a great size and explode in what truly must be the most beautiful of sights.

They would cast the fruits of their grand labor into the depths of the void. Across the universe, some of these atoms would meet and coalesce due to their mass.  Over the millennia these atoms would form larger objects with more mass and more pull; swirling together in a chaotic, violent and, beautiful dance.

Over time these object would become the planets that orbit the multitude stars of our universe. By the natural laws some would settle into a comfortable and delicate orbit around a warm and welcoming star. Over time some of these atoms, in the presence of others, on a fledgling planet would begin to form molecules. Due to the laws of chemistry, these molecules, under the right conditions, would begin to recreate themselves from the matter around them.

These new molecules would eventually form nuclei and become the first cells, which would then divide themselves and form small multi-cellular organisms.

The universe has just created life.

This was not predestined or made to occur. It simply happened as a natural function of the universe’s existence. These organisms would reproduce and evolve; improving upon themselves with each successive generation. The combined forces of the natural laws would blindly select the best of these offspring to survive and reproduce, ensuring that they would be able to sustain and grow.

Their dead would nourish the planet, providing their stored energies to other organisms. These organisms would soon evolve further and differentiate, creating by their very existence, new laws that would govern themselves. Some would be predators, feeding off of each other and, some would be prey, feeding off of vegetative life; all in a fragile balance of power. The strongest of these would, by their nature and the delicate hand of natural selection, reproduce and evolve.

Some would rise above others in the chain of life and begin to evolve more rapidly. They would soon develop the ability to consider and understand. The eyes and hands that they evolved would feed them information about the nature of their existence. As they would gain more information they would gain more understanding.

The universe has just learned to see and feel.

It has become sentient due to the very nature of its existence. It has become able to consider itself and to understand itself; able to marvel at itself… through us. We are literally born of the stars that were themselves born of the moment in time when all matter began to exist and, it is very probable that each of us contains at least one atom that was created during the birth of the universe.

I am an atheist and a skeptic. I do not put stock in fantastical concepts of magical beings that created all we see. I believe in verifiable evidence and the natural laws of our universe. This does not make me dispassionate. I look at the reality of our universe and my heart swells to imagine it. I can think of no higher place, no greater knowledge, than knowing that I am a child of the stars and a way for our universe to look upon itself and weep with joy at its own magnificence.

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For anyone who is a fan of The Lord of the Rings series, this is going to be big. Warner Brothers has released the trailer for the new Hobbit.

The Hobbit is, of course, the book that started it all. And it’s nice to see Gandalf the Grey leading the cast for what is sure to be a blockbuster release. I for one will definitely go to the theatre to see this movie. How about you?

The Hobbit Pictures

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