Friday, May 17, 2013

Samsung admits a boo-boo, Venezuela's TP crisis and Nick Saban as the Devil


- 30 Seconds To Mars frontman Jared Leto hasn’t always been well-liked. Faux-rock pretty boys who seem more focused on their looks than their music can have that effect. This isn't going to help Leto’s case. This Grade-A rock and roll A-hole apparently feels that his band is not just a band, but also an “art project.” He wants 30 Seconds to Mars to not only record albums and tour, but to produce books, short films and documentaries too. “We've always thought about 30 Seconds To Mars not just as a band but an art project,” he said. “A place where we would make music, we would make books, we would make art in general, short films, documentaries. I mean really the music is the glue that binds it all together but its certainly not just about the music, it's about community, it's about a life.” That sounds like a load of complete bull crap and it probably is, but mostly it makes Leto seem like an egotistical, self-important ass who somehow thinks his marginal rock band is going to change the world because they’re such unappreciated geniuses. Coincidentally, 30 Seconds To Mars recently unveiled the video for their single “Up in the Air,” which means they have a new album to promote. The video is as presumptuous as Leto seems to be, clocking in at over eight minutes long and featuring an appearance by burlesque artist Dita Von Teese. Oh, and the new album in question, “Love Lust Faith + Dreams,” drops on May 21. Leto co-produced the project with Steve Lillywhite.” Leto called the project “more than an evolution,” terming it “a brand new beginning” for 30 Seconds to Mars. That new beginning includes an appearance at this summer's Download Festival, alongside Queens Of The Stone Age, Alice In Chains and Motorhead……….


- Dunnigan, Calif. is not a well-known or oft-visited place. It’s not even a flyover town that people can spot from thousands of feet in the air as they zip over it on their way to some place bigger and better – because it’s so freaking small that locating it from that high up is all but impossible. The town has a population of less than 1,500 and its business community consists of a post office and general store. However, life may soon change in a dramatic way for the good people of Dunnigan and it’s all because of real estate developer Elliot Homes. The company has made a proposal to add 9,000 homes and turn more than 600 acres into businesses in Dunnigan, located in Yolo (really) County. Residents have to drive six miles to the nearest town of Arbuckle to take their children to school and reaching the nearest grocery store means a 20-mile drive in the opposite direction. Thankfully, there is a gas station in town so the locals can fuel up between trips out of town to reach the places they need to go. The proposal to expand the town by 1,000 percent or more has some supporters, but also plenty of opposition. Many, including Yolo County planners, do not want more people, they want more jobs. Those jobs would come with the plans goal to build a government center and high school, but opponents of the plan claim those amenities would still not be enough for the more than 22,000 residents that could move there if the new homes and businesses are built. Still, county officials plan to discuss the proposal in June and here’s hoping that they take the golden opportunity placed in front of them because, you know, YOLO………


- Nick Saban is public enemy No. 1 most places outside the state of Alabama. Inside the Yellowhammer State, he’s a hero who could run for governor or senator because he’s won three college football national championships for a program based in a place that loves college football more than family members. Outside the state, there are reasons aplenty to despise the Nick-tator. In Miami, he’s loathed for bolting town to take the Alabama job despite vowing publicly to not leave the Miami Dolphins. In states with their own SEC teams, he’s hated for trouncing every opponent on the schedule on an annual basis. Among the SEC coaching ranks, that hatred is deep-seated and perhaps nowhere does it burn hotter than Gainesville, Fla. That’s where Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis lives and works and it’s where he likened Saban to Satan while comparing him to Florida coach Will Muschamp during a booster club meeting Tuesday. Davis knows what he speaks of, as he and Muschamp both worked as assistants under Saban with the Dolphins. His criticisms were a bit muddled, as he likened the Gators' offensive approach to that of Saban and his Crimson Tide, winners of consecutive BCS championships. "I've always wanted to work with Will [Muschamp]," Davis said. "Will's got a plan. Will coached under the devil himself for seven years. I only did three. He did seven. And his DNA is not any different than Nick." Not surprisingly, Davis is not the first SEC coach to compare Saban to Beelzebub. Four months ago, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin referred to Saban as "Nicky Satan" during a high school sports banquet. After labeling Saban as a demonic presence on the sideline, Davis pointed out that his current boss is a nicer guy than his former one as well. "[Muschamp]'s like the other guy, but he's got a personality," Davis said. "He'll smile at you. He'll talk to you. You understand? That's what he's all about. That's Will. I'm proud to work for him." Next seasons tilt between the Gators and Crimson Tide should be interesting……..


- The past few months have been rough for Venezuela. First, it’s longtime (and seemingly un-removable) dictator, Hugo Chavez, passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. Next, it was shortages of milk, butter, coffee and cornmeal. But perhaps nothing is more undignified than running out of ol’ TP – yup, toilet paper. The country’s embattled socialist government admits it is running short on squares and plans to import 50 million rolls to boost supplies. Some supermarkets in the capital, Caracas, were already out of the hygiene product. Those that had some in stock had customers bum-rushing their shelves to get their hands on a few more rolls before supplies ran out. Economists blame the shortage (and others before it) on price controls meant to make basic goods available to the poorest parts of society, as well as the government's controls on foreign currency. The theory that state-controlled prices invariably result in shortages is nothing new, as illustrated by the bread lines and other long waits for basic goods in the Soviet Union back in the day. President Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly won a disputed (and possibly rigged) election to replace Chavez, claims that anti-government forces, including the private sector, are causing the shortages in an effort to destabilize the country. Yes, a clandestine effort to topple the government by forcing toilet paper shortages nationwide. To offset the shortfall, the government plans to import 50 million rolls of toilet paper this week along with 760,000 tons of food. Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming tried to run additional misdirection by blaming the shortage of toilet tissue on "excessive demand" built up as a result of "a media campaign that has been generated to disrupt the country." "The revolution will bring the country the equivalent of 50 million rolls of toilet paper," he proclaimed. All hail the TP revolution……..


- Big ups to Samsung for finally admitting that there is a problem using its Galaxy S4 smartphone on some Wi-Fi networks that use D-Link routers. After trying to ignore the issue for a bit, the company finally confirmed that the Galaxy S4 has problems connecting to, or staying connected to Wi-Fi networks that used some D-Link model routers. "This is a problem caused by firmware stored on a specific access point in D-Link routers. Customers should update their firmware to the latest version or reboot the access point," a Samsung spokeswoman said. That explanation may not placate angry Galaxy S4 owners, who have taken to lighting the company up in a number of online forums. Worse still, users in a number of different countries and with a variety of characters have all complained of the same problem. Their laments all centered on problems centering on being able to connect to their home wireless networks one day, then not being able to connect the next day. Others complained that they could connect to their home network, but were dropped after a few minutes. Some have been able to mitigate their issues by changing the security encryption type to TPK, which can have a detrimental effect on other devices connected to the network. Spiting one part of their network to benefit another seemed to be an undesirable idea and having their router lock up when they tried to deal with the problem was another frustrating alternative. D-Link also acknowledged the issue and said it was actively looking into the cause of the problems. "Recently, a limited number of customers have reported connection issues between their D-Link wireless router, including the DIR-855 and DIR-655, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 handset. D-Link is actively researching this issue now to determine the cause,” the company said in a statement. Now that everyone has admitted that there is a problem, maybe it will actually get fixed………

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