Around the Web - Michael Jackson, Powerbook, and About Bobas

Michael Jackson Trial Begins {via cnn} No witty sarcastic comment necessary.
Apple Powerbook Updated {via slashdot} And the world domination continues.

I know, it's slow. It's a Monday. Everyone's rushing to finish stuff they said they had done the previous week before their bosses find out.

I'll take this time to explain a little about this site. It's cool. Hmmm. Oh, in addition, we're just a group of gambling-obsessed gadgety guys. We gamble on stocks and invest in blackjack, all the while listening to our iPods. We all love karaoke, but only some of us can sing. I'm quite sexy, on the inside. Eazy's real cute, according to his mom. The rest are just ugly.

World's Smallest Pacman Game {via Metafilter, flash} Perfect for guys with the world's smallest p...

Google Becomes Domain Registrar {via BetaNews} Is it just me, or will Google and Apple own the world in 2 to 3 years?

I was just watching the 76ers vs the Pacers on NBA TV... Kyle Korver made a game winning shot, and the arena starts blasting a song and you hear, "play that funky music whiteboy!" I thought that was funny.
Then they show highlights of the Pistons visiting George Bush and the White House today, and Bush addresses the team, "nobody thought you would win... I know how you feel." That was funnier.

Eazy Karaoke - Ocean Avenue

Artist - "Yellowcard"
Album - Ocean Avenue
Karability - 2 out of 5
Sounds Like - Simple Plan, New Found Glory
Best Line - "we were both 18 and it felt so right. Sleeping all day staying up all night..."

Ah... those college days of no sleeping... This is one of my favorite song! For some reason, whenever I hear the song, it reminds me of the sunny beaches (maybe cuz the name says "OCEAN"?) . This song has got it all, manic beats, heavy bass, and violin (yes, violin!) Who knew that violin is such an AWESOME rock instrument?

The chorus is simply awesome. Unfortunately, the notes are quite hard to hit, prompting the 2 star k-rating, but that doesn't mean you can't try (just not when others are around)

This DEFINITELY gets 5 bobas!

Eazy Money - Healthy Close

We had a pretty good close today. The indexes except most of its gain and we didn't have a late day meltdown that had became the norm in 2005. I was tempted to take my profits on AAPL when it hit $78 but I held on, my target remains at $80.

My other holdings all went up 2-3% today (URBN, PNC, YHOO). Unfortunately, I am about one strike price out of money so I did not feel much of the push.

The big news tomorrow will be GOOG's earning announcements after the market closes. If it beats again like last quarter, it should really benefit the tech sector.

I continue to beat myself up for not buying SBL back after I took some profit early January. It made another 52-week high today and it has a chance to reach $20. This stock remains high on my list of long term investment, along with PNR.

Eazy Money - An Apple a Day Keep Your Debtors Away!

AAPL finally set a new 52-week high today. When the blowout earning announcement failed to create a significant new 52-week high, I knew this stock was held back by the general pessimism. I mean, who can be optimistic when all your money has been wiped away in two weeks (I am not bitter, BTW). You just don't stay BELOW your pre-earning level after beating by 21c (70c vs 49c).

With the introduction of Mac Mini's, PC users will have NO EXCUSE not to try the Macs out for their second/kids computers. I even bought myself a Mac Mini and Shuffle, just to get myself into the "Apple phenomenon". Seeing how they are backordered just about everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised to hear from Apple, about how they are surprised how well the Mini's are selling!!!

I bought the Feb 75 options at $2.25, back on Jan 13th, after the earnings. It promptly nosedived to $1.10. It jumped $2 today and trades at $3.80-$3.90 as we speak. Since it is more than half "in the money", I aim to hold the option til the stock hits $80, then roll to the Mar 85, to lock in some gains.

So trade carefully and let's make some more eazy money~

eazy positions: call aapl, yhoo, urbn, pnc; long tmta, intc

Eazy Money - Disclaimer!

This running column will detail my foray into the dark and unpredictable world of options trading. All transactions are real (This aint no fantasy stock trading, sirs!) I will reiterate my current positions in each post. Feel free to bet with or against me. The object is obviously to "get rich quick" because, life is just too short to get rich slow!

Netflix vs Blockbuster

Netflix - 2 weeks free trial, $17.99 per month after that
Blockbuster - $9.99 first month, $14.99 per month after that

At first glance, it appears that Blockbuster is the better deal. Having tried both, I can tell you the differences that I've experienced. As with most things, your mileage may vary, but c'mon, my opinion means more.

First, the similarities. They both claim to have over 30,000 titles in their library. Both deals are for 3 movies out a time. Both have free shipping both ways, and both have have the "cancel anytime" policy.

The differences, as far as my account goes, were these:
- I noticed that Netflix wasn't always able to ship me some movies on the top of my list. However, Blockbuster was worse in terms of put titles on wait.
- The turnaround time for Netflix was faster than Blockbuster by about 2 days. Meaning, after I sent my movies back to Netflix, it look longer to receive my next movies. This could be due to where I live, but I suspect that since Netflix has been in this business longer, they are more efficient in the processing of the movies.
- When I cancelled my Netflix account, everything went as planned, and I was no longer charged. When I cancelled my account with Blockbuster, I received 2 E-mails half a month later telling me that I did not return 2 movies, and that I have been charged $21.54 for each movie. Come again? First of all, I never received those movies, and second of all, I could buy those movies cheaper elsewhere! There were times, although rare, when the Netflix website showed that they had sent me a movie when I in fact didn't receive it. I simply logged on and told them that I never received it, and it was never an issue after that. With Blockbuster, I am still dealing with my credit card company to get the credit from Blockbastards. It's a complete waste of my time, and my time is worth at least $5 an hour!

In conclusion, Netflix is pretty good and Blockbuster sucks. At least Blockbuster gives you 2 in-store rentals per month, so they earn an extra Boba.

Blockbuster receives 2 Bobas:


Netflix receives 4 Bobas:

Eazy Karaoke - On The Way Down

Artist - "Ryan Cabrera"
Album - Take It All Away
Karability - 4 out of 5
Sounds Like - John Mayer, if he was a girl

Eminem he isn't, Ryan tries to show his sensitive side by singing like he is about to cry. He has a slightly coarse voice and a very limited range, which should make this a karaoke favorite.

This is probably the easiest song you will hear from me. So, go get it and let's all sing like a girl!

4 out of 5

Around the Web - Teri Polo in Playboy

Female ABA Coach Fired {via espn} As it wasn't amazing enough that she was 22 when hired as a coach of a professional men's basketball team, she's also a chick and they had a record of 17-7. But the thing that surprised me the most was that the ABA was back in business! Wow. Too bad her boss fired her following an argument.

Teri Polo in Playboy! {via sex and fun, NSFW} Woohoo! I've had a crush on her ever since Meet the Parents. Of course she's currently in Meet the Fockers, but if you're still reading this instead of looking at her pics, then you're weird. Link below.

Update 11/20/05: The Teri Polo link is outdated, here is a good link.

FreeiPods.com: Does It Work?

Yes.

For obvious reasons, most people think the freeipods.com website is a scam. I assure you, it's for real. If you want to put in some time, you can get it.

Here's how it works:
1) You sign up with freeipods.com for yourself
2) You complete one offer
3) Get five friends to sign up to freeipods.com with your referral link
4) They each complete one offer
5) You do some amount of waiting and checking, and eventually it's at your door

Try it for yourself. They're also doing a FreeGamingSystems, FreeiPodShuffle, FreeMiniMacs, and many more.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind if you're planning on doing this; and tell this to the people that sign up under you.
1) Be sure to use the correct referral link when initially signing up. It looks something like http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=9517833. It should list the referral ID of the referrer in the space above where you enter a E-mail and password. If not, repaste the url and try again. If you sign up without the referrer, they won't go back and change it for you. Nor can you delete the account. After signing up, make sure the person that referred you has you under their list. If not, I'd wait until it does show up.
2) The first time you sign up, after you enter your contact information, they show you a LOT of offers. These are not the offers that you need to complete. Just say no to all of them. The offer you need to complete will be under the link Complete Offer.
3) Disable pop-up blockers when signing up for one of the offers. If you've installed Windows Service Pack 2, it may block pop-ups by default. Go to Tools -> Pop-up Blocker -> Turn Off Pop-up Blocker. Or if you're using a Google/Yahoo! toolbar, disable it there. You don't want to take any chance of their javascript not working and thereby not crediting you properly.
4) Find the offers that don't require any money up front. Most of the offers will require that you have a credit card, which is OK, as long as it's free. Try the free trials, but just be sure to cancel it before the trial period ends. Most of the problems arise when people don't cancel the services in time and the company starts charging you when the trial period is over. Or try applying for the credit cards.
5) Have patience. They are a small crew and are swamped with requests up the wazoo. But be persistent when you are having legitimate problems. If you have all the requirements and they put you on hold for any reason, ask them often through their Help section why it is on hold and demand explanations.

If you need more help, FreeiPodGuide is a great resource for all the free sites.

I have already received a free iPod as well as a free flat screen TV from them. It works!

Photos of my free iPod.

Around the Web - Sammy Sosa So Long

Sosa To Orioles? {espn} Cubs to receive steroids in return for "beisbol has been berry berry guud to me" Sammy.

Around the Web - Preorder PSP and Brazilian Wax

Preorder Sony PSP {GameStop} Bundled with games for $379.95. I'm not sold yet, but when March rolls around, I don't know how I am going to hold back. Review {Wired}

Go ahead, ask me, "Jimmy, what's going on today?" To which I'll reply, "nothing much." Yeah, it's a slow day, but it's Friday. Who's going gambling this weekend? Poker anyone?

Brazilian Wax {via Metafilter, no nudity video} Pretty women getting waxed for the first time... virgin waxers, if you will.

Eazy Karaoke - Vindicated

Artist - "Dashboard Confessional"
Album - Spiderman 2 Soundtrack
Karaoke-bility - 1 out of 5

Ok, this is a pretty old song. But I just can't seem to get it out of my head today. "Dashboard Confessional" is like a guilty pleasure. On one hand, I question his manliness with his high pitch whiny voice. On the other hand, his wide range makes the chorus really stand out. Besides, who doesn't want to be vindicated?

Just like their other songs, normal guys just can't hit those high chorus, unless, well, unless you are without a certin body part =)

4 out of 5

Around the Web - Napoleon, Indecent Proposal, and the Black Razr

Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard {Albino Blacksheep, via Revoked} If you loved the movie, you will love this soundboard.

Indecent Proposal {paulzarouii.com, flash, just a little nsfw} Another one of those "for everything else, there's mastercard" commercials, but this one is funny.

Black Motorla V3 Razr {c|net} They will be handing these out in the Oscar grab bags. I want to be a famous actor just so I can get these hookups. Would be nice to date Mandy Moore and stuff too, though.

iPod shuffle Review

Well I ain't gonna worry this life away... sings Jason Mraz on the Apple 1 GB iPod Shuffle that I'm listening to right now. That's how I feel about using this new iPod. I don't want to worry about getting every song onto my iPod... I just throw in my favorite songs quickly... and go. The flash drive doesn't copy songs as fast as it's older brothers' hard drive, but the convenience of the size and weight makes up for it. Another feature that I love is the instant USB drive. Just remove the cap and plug it into the USB port. When my friends get together, we take lots of pictures but I can never get it from the bastards. Now, when we get together, we're gonna transfer all the photos to one laptop, then copy them to our shuffles. Instant gratification!

What I like about the iPod shuffle:
Light and small - I think my Shure E3c earbuds weigh more than it does!
Great sound quality
Easy to use
Drop-friendly
A perfect USB drive
Sexy!

What I don't like:
Slower copying songs than the regular iPods
A little pricey

So there it is, I've confessed my love for the iPod shuffle. Sure, you can buy another brand's mp3 player with more features and lower price, but dude, it's just not as cool. I'm handing this little sucker the maximum 5 Bobas.



More photos:

Plugged into a Dell 700m laptop.



Used with Shure E3c-n Sound Isolating Earphones

Daily Song - A Decade Under The Influence

Artist - "Taking Back Sunday"
Album - Where You Want To Be
Sounds Like - "The Used" with less screaming and faster pace

4 out of 5

iPod Socks Review

The Apple iPod Socks is not what you think. The iPod doesn't wear it over its feet because, well, the iPod doesn't have feet. Instead, the Socks is a soft case for the iPod. You slip your iPod in, and go.
For those of you that aren't too active while carrying your iPod, the protection is sufficient. What does it do? It protects your iPod from minor scratches and looks stylish at the same time. It allows you to take the socks off quickly. This is important to those who use the Bose SoundDock, which requires you to remove all but the iPod itself to connect. What doesn't it do? It does not protect your iPod from falls. It does not let you see the screen while it's on, and although you can still press the buttons, you have to guess which is which (but if you can't remember which button does what, please check for Alzheimer's). It does not have a clip for easy (and dorky) travel.

So class, what have we learned from all this? The iPod Socks is so darn cute, you just wanna put your iPod in and snuggle up with it. It's a lot of style, and a little of function. I recommend it for iPod (except shuffle) owners who want something adorable and need quick in-and-out access, but who is careful and won't drop your iPod. For those people, it gets a 4 Bobas out of 5 rating.



More photos:

iPod Socks on, and iPod stripping... YEAH BABY!

Around the Web - Mini Mac Drops and Free Forbes

Price Drops For Mac Mini Upgrades {/.} That's great news for people like me who wants the fully-loaded version. Seems like they actually listened to peoples' complaints.

Anandtech reviews the Mac Mini {anandtech}

No more updates for pirated Windows copies {tom's hardware} seems like more of a reason to go the way of the Mac Mini.

Free subscription to Forbes Magazine {freebizmag} I think I better read it before I lose ALL my money!