Round One: FIGHT!

Does anyone still remember the grand old fight games that started so much of this craze we see now? Check out what this guy did with two characters; one from Street Fighter (Ryu) and one from Mortal Kombat (Scorpion). Pretty creative and a really well crafted fight scene. Enjoy - JK

'Spaceship Earth' Collapses: Maybe The Frat Aliens Did It?

I'm posting this because not only was this sculpture built on the campus where I work but I actually helped unveil it (which was itself a bit of a cluster event, in my opinion, only surpassed by this rather sad but embarrassing moment). I'm not happy about something like this happening but suffice it to say that I'm not really upset either. In any case I still maintain that it would have been a rather amazing site to watch it disintegrate, live. (ref: movie, "Tommy Boy", below)

David Spade: No way that just happened.

Chris Farley: That was AWESOME.... sorry about your car, man.


'Spaceship Earth' collapses into rubble
Artwork — not the planet — crumbles mysteriously at college campus

ATLANTA - A million-dollar stone sculpture, intended to remind future generations of the Earth’s fragility, made its point a bit early — just three months after its unveiling, it collapsed.

The 175-ton “Spaceship Earth” lay in ruins at Kennesaw State University after mysteriously falling to pieces last week.

The engraved phrase “our fragile craft” was still visible amid the debris. (credit AP; full story here on MSNBC.com)

“Kind of ironic,” said Mary-Elizabeth Watson, a university employee. “I had no idea it was made up of so many pieces.”

University officials say they suspect water damage or glue failure, but agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are also looking into the possibility of vandalism, said Frances Weyand, a spokeswoman for Kennesaw State.

(photo credits to Jim Bolt / Kennesaw State University)

Digital Content Continued: My Broken Record

This topic has been cropping up more, lately, between me, friends and other pundits concerning the current and ongoing digital music/video revolution. I am still faced and perplexed by the near complete lack of realization by the content providers at large with regard to a consumer model for downloading, transfer and ownership of said, purchased content. Why?

It's all too difficult and expensive.

In no sense of entirety can I just buy a digital track, own it, transfer it to portable devices (plural) or burn it (plural), etc. There's all kinds of bullshit involved in the form of annoying limits and overpricing; I mean, come on, $15 for a Talladega Nights DVD? And I dare someone to ask me about my recent first (and last) experience with the bastard child of Steve Jobs, iTunes (so you're saying that I can't keep it on my PC if it's not on the iPod? Ass.) ...ok, let me slow the rant here to get to the point:

Consumers are not satisfied on multiple fundamental fronts of their own simple economic psychology; the desire for deliverables to arrive in the form closest to fast, free and now.

How is this a fact? Simple. People still download unlicensed music and videos. They wouldn't do this (in any manner of significance) if the product was anywhere close to those three ideas of which the most critically missed component is "now".

People don't steal what is cheap and readily available.

Yes, .99 cents a track is relatively cheap but the products in question are not readily available; and readily available doesn't just mean "stock" it means unencumbered after the fact of purchase. When I buy a gallon of milk, it's mine. When I want some milk I go the fridge and pour some into a glass. If I wanted to I could pour it in bowl or a cup or, hell, I could pour it on the floor if I so please. However at $15 a gallon I'm not too happy about buying anymore milk (and no I'm no going to Kroger to steal some milk, idiot, because cheaper and more readily available products exist to counter such an asinine markup). I refer to a Cnet.com article about software pricing to illustrate my point (and the truth):

"[Digital River CEO Joel Ronning] went on to explain that [the] high price of software is why piracy runs rampant in countries such as China. People there can't afford to pay U.S.-level prices, so there's a strong economic incentive for sellers to create pirated versions and for users to buy them." (credit Rafe Needleman, cnet.com; full article here)

So, a "strong economic incentive" for people to engage in the exchange of unlicensed goods. But why? Due to what? Simple, a lack of equilibrium in what the consumer market will bear from the entities delivering the product to that very market.

Wake up, fellas. Fast, free and now is the only way to go. Make it simple and make it easy and you'll make the consumer believe that it's worth it to pony up. Stop with the DRM, broadcast flags and petty reasons why and give people what they want -in return they will give you their dollars. -JK

Secret Formulas: My Kind Of Math

I don't see anything wrong with the solution to this equation, do you? -JK

Anti-Pigeon Poop Security: A New Device for Cars