I activated my Motofone F3c a few months ago after much research and effort.  Call it one geek’s quest to occupy the lowest trophic level of the cellular food chain.

I bought the phone online for $60 and activated it on T-Mobile’s prepaid network for $25.

I cut my cell bill from $60/month to $18/month in the first month. No more bills in the mail, no overage charges, no cheap camera that breaks after five months. Honestly, I can’t say enough about pre-paid cellular. I can recharge my T-Mobile account whenever I want.

Seriously, why pay for more phone than you need?

Yesterday, while driving home I thought of two good questions for Motorola and the major cellular carriers:

“Why can’t American’s buy this phone easily, when someone in India can?”

“Are your ‘low-cost, durable phones that bridge literacy gaps’ exclusive to the Third World?”

MotofoneHome | Motofone Demo

You can find Eliot Spitzer’s alleged call-girl ‘Kristen’ here (courtesy of The New York Times’ sleuthing):

Ashley Alexandra Dupre on MySpace

Ashley Alexandra Dupre on AmieStreet

also on Gawker.

Criminals, call-girls, courtrooms… maybe it’s time to read Eliot Spitzer’s book?

In the time it took me to post this entry, her song on Amie Street went from $0.19 to $0.29! As of this (03/18/08) update she is up to $0.98.

I love puffy stickers. Don’t you?

In preparation for an impending bachelor party, it’s time to start some calisthenics for the “MANCATION”:

Reading:
Positively Fifth Street by James MacManus
Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course in Power Poker by Doyle Brunson
The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky
Championship No Limit & Pot Limit Hold ‘Em by Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier

Practicing:
No-Limit Texas Hold’Em on Party Poker
Bathroom Breaks with World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em by Radica Games
Drives, Chips, & Putts at Stadium Golf Center

Considering Al Gore’s appearance on Capitol Hill yesterday, I thought it an apt question.  Particularly in light of those who vociferously deny the overwhelming climatological evidence.

Read & Listen to NPR coverage of his testimony.

Can you picture Alan Greenspan reclining in the bath reading cartoons? How about Ben Bernanke reading comics at bedtime? The Federal Reserve publishes a series of comic books that illustrate monetary systems, policy, inflation, foreign exchange, savings, and consumer credit. The books are free to the public, order yours today.

Sanjay Patel, an illustrator for Pixar, has come out with a great new book, The Little Book of Hindu Deities.

Ganesha: Oldest son of Shiva &his wife, Parvati. He is lord of all living things.

Karttikeya: God of war of the Hindus.

Kali: The Black One. Hindu mother goddess and symbol of destruction.

Ramayana: A great Indian epic, the a story of duty and devotion.

Saraswati: Goddess of the arts and knowledge.

Shiva: One of the oldest gods.

Sita: Wife of Rama, an example of womanly and wifely virtues.

Buddha: The ninth incarnation of Vishnu is Buddha.

(BUY: The Little Book of Hindu Deities)

A compelling photo of a Hadzabe bushman in Tanzania, shot by JM Castro. To this day, Hadzabe rely on archery to hunt.

Read More: The Language of the Land: Living Among the Hadzabe

Check out Trendio. Way cool site. I signed up and am going to try bidding on some words: You can too!

I just finished Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, a sobering cinematic meditation on civilization, progress, technology, inertia, and entropy. Slow motion footage of natural, technological, and social phenomena and a soundtrack by Philip Glass make for a thought-provoking experience (see wiki | video).  How far have we really come since 1983?

Have you ever seen a spider like this? I snapped this in my garden one afternoon about 3 years ago. Amazing – lime green body, translucent red and yellow legs with black spots and spikes. Absolutely fearsome.

If you’ve seen a spider like this, or know what it’s called, please leave a post, I’ve always wondered.

Provocative thoughts from the New Atheists, an excellent article in Wired magazine; possibly the smartest magazine on the rack. Are You There God?

Here’s the link to Brad Pitt on Jackass, fast forward to 5:14 on this clip. Much street cred for Brad Pitt in the Gorilla suit, slamming concrete with Johnny Knoxville, good on ya’ Brad.

Just saw The Good Shepherd. Matt Damon is great – and as usual, creeps me out – but Angleina Jolie you are hereby advised to go back to Tomb Raider and never return. Whew!

Morike Keita, also known as Mo DJ is one of the West Africa’s top pop music remix artists. If you enjoy electronica and West African music, check this artist from Mali.

The Rejection Collection is off-color, crass, and all-too true. An absolutely brilliant compilation of the best of the worst comics submitted to the New Yorker magazine.

You can also buy many of the individual prints, like the one above, on Cartoon Bank.

Bravo New Yorker!

Cold and foggy in San Diego today. I took this on top of Mount Helix one morning more than a few weeks ago. A wonderful amphitheatre. Climb the stairs, look east, and enjoy the sunrise. Bring a Canon of your own and catch the moment.

I just posted this to NPR’s new Flickr group for Weekend All Things Considered, Industriosphere. If you have an interesting photo of a utility pole in your neighborhood submit it.

A great new sushi bar opened on El Cajon Boulevard, Tokyo Sushi. Great presentation and extremely fresh.  Interior design isn’t traditional japanese, which I prefer, but the food is great.

If you’re looking to make sushi yourself, pick-up your own Sushi-Making Kit (Short-grain Rice, Nori for wrapping the sushi, Pickled Ginger, Spicy Wasabi Horseradish, Dark Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sushi Vinegar, Rice Paddle, and a Bamboo Mat) and this great book on how to make sushi.

I found two Sudoku books under the tree this Christmas. A wonderful, thoughtful gift and an Alzheimer fighter too!

Sadly, the game just isn’t for me. Five failed puzzles in a row. Au revoir, Sudoku.

Does making a New Year’s Resolution ultimately guarantee your failure?

Don’t get me wrong, I can set goals and achieve them, but I wonder if the BIG resolution at the start of the year is the best way to make changes in life.

We all start with the best of intentions on January 1st, but what then? Here are a few the more memorable resolutions that fell by the wayside: stop swearing, show respect, read more, surf more, drink less beer, return friends’ email / vmail, drink less coffee, learn to play the ukulele… and the list goes on.

Do you have a story of New Year’s Resolution failure, or New Year’s Resolution success?

I think making small incremental changes is a more realistic. Here are some books that might help if you’re interested in making real, lasting life changes.

Goal Analysis

Achieve Your Goals

You’ve no doubt come across these garbage blogs, now they have a name splogs. Wired had a great article about them some time ago.

Quite simply Wired is my favorite magazine subscription. No more The New Yorker, Martha Stewart Living (seriously, I like this magazine), National Geographic, or Surfing for me.

Nothing makes me feel like I’m in the know like Wired.

Last night, on CSPAN of all places, I came across the acceptance speech of Muhammad Yunus(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus) (মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস) for the 2006 Nobel Peace prize in Oslo Norway.

During his speech he talked extensively about ethical banking, microcredit & microfinance, and to some extent the role he and the Grameen bank played in developing this new type of lending. The most important part of his talk centered on how social banking is poised to become the new form of capitalism in which institutions can achieve optimum social benefit with zero capital investment loss (see video).

In the future, I could imagine this type of system being used by poorer nations, like India, to turn poverty into an advantage that allows their society to surpass economic and social acheivements of the United States. It also presents an opportunity for Americans to help disadvantaged people right now.

Read Books by Muhammad Yunus

A few weeks ago some old friends introduced me to some amazing chocolate – made by Vosges Haut Chocolate.

Their line of exotic candy bars will blow your mind. Curry, Wasabi, Tibetan Goji berries – these aren’t crappy fusion-inspired chocolates – these are the real deal. I was so impressed I bought their A, B, and C box sets.

If you are a chocolate lover, or know someone who is, these are worth every penny.

Looking for the perfect gift this holiday?  You can buy Coca Tea from Amazon.com. Cocashop.com also allows you to buy Peruvian coca leaves, Erythoxylon coca, in their online store.

Now that’s some e-commerce, baby. I bet Just Say No Nancy is beside herself with these modern problems.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. I hope he has a Odyssey Putter and my favorite Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky in his infamous bag of goodies.

Have you heard about Banksy? CNN and YouTube ran some cool video and turned me on to him. I did some Googling and found out Defamer is getting cranky because us blog plebes are excited.

Boo-hoo. It’s a jungle out there. His concepts are amazing. Why shouldn’t we plebes get excited?

Best of all he has three self-published art books:

Wall and Piece

Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall

Cut It Out

In the spirit of Banksy, I think he would be proud of the Status Quo t-shirt.

Are you the type of person who always brings work home? When you’re home do you miss work?  When you’re at work, do you miss, well, more work?

Fear not, respectable workaholic, order your copy of the Thriving Office ($12.95).

Load it onto your iPod and get psyched on your commute.  Put it on the hifi and fill your domicile with the ambient buzz of endless productivity. Ah, such sweet, sweet nirvana.

While you’re at it, consider self-help.

If you’re in Richmond, Virginia consider the Tacky Christmas Holiday Lights Tour. There is even a detailed map (top of page) and a slideshow. Don’t forget the original tacky Christmas light!

Another classic car ad, pithcing an art site on the back of a pickup – it doesn’t get anymore Dada than that – I love it. For more detailed exploration of this topic, maybe this will help.

From the archive of old news… Shamu bites Sea World trainer. Apparently, this isn’t the first time an Orca has gotten “playful” with a captor cum trainer. Watch more Killer Whales in the wild and see for yourself how fun it is to play with Shamu.

Have you ever thought about getting a DNA copyright? I did some research and was surprised to find it was a surprisingly mundane idea. Hollywood was way ahead of me, check out the celebrity angle. Can you imagine two couch-jumping TomKats? Negative Maverick, the pattern is full.

It makes me wonder how pharmaceutical companies might copyright DNA sequences if you participated in a clinical study. Anyone out there with a legal degree who understands these issues?

Another roadside classic, southbound 5 freeway on a Friday afternoon – www.baklavaking.com

 I’ve got to say, probably the most professional car-advertised Web site I’ve been on since I started taking photos.  Maybe he really is THE BAKLAVA KING!

Lily Allen is great for pop music. Could this be the beginning of the next wave of British music in America? Check out Lily Allen’s MySpace page, Lily Allen videos, or listen to more MP3’s (or buy her albums on EMI INT’L IMPORT) check:

Alright, Still by Lily Allen

Smile, Pt. 1 by Lily Allen

Smile, Pt. 2 by Lily Allen

LND by Lily Allen

LND, Pt. 2 by Lily Allen

A saucy girl like that, I’m thinking I should send her a free “What’s Your Number” shirt, right propa’ mon.

Just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It’s interesting how ground-breaking science fiction concepts can seem so mundane 74 years after original publication. In 1942, bioengineering on this scale seemed improbable. Today, the technology seems laughable. It makes me wonder about the famous intersection of art imitating life (and vice versa). If you can get past the campy names and language, a great book to probe concepts of utopia, personal freedom, morality, and the social order.

National Geographic, IBM, and the Waitt Family Foundation have teamed up for an incredibly ambitious project, called the Genographic Project to map the genetic markers of deep human ancestry. Best $100 I ever spent.

If you are interested in the genetic origins of your family, or geneaology, this test adds an incredible dimension to your research. If you don’t want to spend $100, but want to learn about this fascinating project, you can also read Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project.

I participated in the study and my patrilineal line (Y chromosome) came out in the R1b Haplogroup. I was so impressed with the report I received, I bought the test for my Mom and Dad to test their matrilineal lines this Christmas.

I’m interested in making contact with others with the R1b haplotype, as well as hearing from any other Genographic Project participants.

Send a private email: MEMORANDUMB at HOTMAIL . COM

-or-

Leave a comment on this blog!

Taken in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park central square with my Canon A95.

Sas Diego is a great place to visit on your next California vacation.

When was the last time you got a DVD that had good Bonus Material on it? My first DVD was Shrek and I remember it had little games and extras on it.

These days it seems “Bonus Material” constitutes the Gaffer, Best Boy, and Dolly Grip on mic, drinking beer, eating pizza and lighting farts.

Whoa-ho-hoa! That was a good one Yitalia!

<– P.S. – Be sure to check out all five of the NEW memorandumb shirts in the top left nav!  The “What’s Your Number?” shirt just cracks me up.

Announcing the start of a new category on memorandumb, Information Superhighway.

For years, I’ve been fascinated by people who advertise Web sites on their cars. These ads are the epitomy of kitschy, guerilla marketing.

The best part is, the ad usually leads to a crusty Web 0.1 destination.

The inaugural entry leads to a UFC fighter site, so it’s not the worst I’ve seen. However, the Hulk-meets-Hello Kitty manga illustration on the Home Page is classic.

There are worse examples out there and this new section is devoted to giving them the limelight they always wanted.

If you see car advertising like this, send me the photo and I’ll post it to the category.

I just finished The Old Man and the Sea on CD – the perfect companion for any commuter. What an amazing story about personal will, struggle, and fate. If you don’t want to buy a $25,000 first edition, check it out from your local public library. I understand this was the last book Hemingway published before taking “the Hemingway solution”, as Stephen King refers to it in Dreamcatcher.

On a different note, we just launched the new memorandumb apparel store on CafePress: http://www.cafepress.com/memorandumb

My favorites are “this lousy t-shirt” and “Maintaining the Staus Quo“. Get your apparel today and show your support for all things memorandumb!

I have no idea, but have you ever noticed how almost every old person drives a Buick Century?

I mean seriously, the next time you’re on the road and spot a Buick, get alongside and look at the driver.

65+ guaranteed.

If they’re younger than that, odds are they got the car free from a relative. What else can explain the phenomena?

Tiger Woods must have a hell’uva contract.

Come on Tiger, what do you really drive?

Ho-Ho-Ho! 즐거운 성탄! The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il better put extra cookies out for Santa this year. He’s been a baaaad boy.

Proposed UN trade sanctions might keep these goodies from getting under Our Dear Leader’s tree:

• Hennessey
• Rolex
• Cigars
• Expensive cars
• Harley Davidson motorcycles
• Fatty Tuna
• Furs
• Diamonds
• Laptop Computers
• Racing Cars
• Yachts
• iPods
• Whitney Houston Movies

So much for Karl Marx.

This goodie list reads more like Tupac lyrics. North-Siiiide!

Interior decorators specializing in fine RV design and decor. Let’s hope this shop is better with interiors than they are with exteriors.

Now I’ve seen it all… except perhaps, Alaska by RV.

It appears San Diego doesn’t want another overcrowded Wal-Mart SuperCenter in San Diego. They know Wal-Mart is bad for local retailers and have taken a page out of South-Central L.A.’s strategy with the corporate giant. Good for them.

From gender discrimination, hiring shills to blog and petition city council, low wage employment with scant benefits, this corporation is eroding the economic base of many American cities. If you’re concerned Wal-Mart is bad for America, you may be interested in meeting a few like-minded individuals.

Coastal view of the Pacific from Point Lobos. Excellent for hiking, diving, and kayaking during your travels in Monterey, CA.

Be sure to check out Whaler’s Cove and the Cabin Museum, as well as read up on life Beyond Cannery Row.

Variety recently posted an obituary for the VHS. I heard someone on NPR say she and her friends keep one VHS player that they share with each other when someone needs to play a tape. I keep mine in the garage on a shelf next to the WD-40 and half-empty paint cans.

When I upgraded to my Sony DVD player five years ago I bought it for $180. At the time, I knew someone working on Blu-ray technologies at a major Asian electronics company. Right then, my DVD player was already obsolete.

Since then, I’ve thought about buying an LCD TV, or Plasma TV, or DLP TV, or LCOS TV, or a projector… but why?

So I can pay a bigger electric bill and a bigger cable bill? Or maybe it’s so I can buy Swingers again (first on VHS, then on DVD, next on blu-ray?).

I’m no expert here… What do you think? Do you have an experience to share with fellow readers about buying into the HDTV revolution (good or bad)?

I was down at the beach yesterday and two high schoolers were blasting Pink Floyd’s The Wall on the car stereo as they changed out of their wet suits. My friends & I used to do the same thing, but we preferred to impose Animals or Led Zeppelin IV on anyone within earshot.

It got me wondering what it is about classic rock and high school. I’m surprised high schollers are still listening to it. Hearing it now, the music seems corny and melodramatic. I can remember playing Tangerine off Led Zeppelin III for my audiophile uncle one Thanksgiving and thinking it was the best song I’d ever heard.

My uncle agreed absently, then promptly headed to the kitchen to see if dessert was served.

This shot was taken on my Canon A95 just outside Carmel Valley at the edge of an intense rain shower, near Carmel by the Sea.

I saw An Inconvenient Truth on DVD last night. A few people in my extended family doubt global warming’s reality, so I plan to buy them a stocking stuffer.

This issue is too important to be ignored. The only disappointments I had watching were:

• Apple laptop & software placement (Al Gore happens to be on Apple’s Board of Directors)
• 2000 election footage

Regardless of whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, Mac person or PC person, this issue is more important than our individual partisanship. I regret the credibility of Al Gore’s message (and the documentary as a whole) may suffer for this.  What are your thoughts?

While gorging tomorrow, be sure to “Fill Smart” as our friends at ARCO would say.

Speaking of full bellies, isn’t it amazing how supply is tight and oil profits have soared?

And here I thought war profiteering was unethical and un-American.

In the face of these realities, you know what really cracks me up? The $0.45 charge I pay to use my ATM card at the pump. My local grocery store doesn’t charge this fee when I buy a pack of gum, neither does my deli when I buy a sandwich.

Why is a gas station any different?

…because gas station profit margins are so thin, right?

I’ve gone so far as to write my Congressman to legislate ATM fees.

If you hate being charged this goofy fee, post a comment.

Forbes magazine has published its annual list of the richest fictional characters (read full story).

Daddy Warbucks leads the list, but factoring for compound interest, it’s no wonder. If Matt Groening is smart, he’ll ask writers for The Simpson’s to give Monty Burns an unexpected windfall next season.

There are a lot of “firsts” in life.

First man on the moon, for example. There are a lot of theories about what happened… check out these films and decide for yourself:

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
• What Happened on the Moon (2000)
• NOVA – To the Moon (1999)

Jerry, George, and Elaine would be ashamed. CNN reports Michael Richards (who played Kramer on Seinfeld) launched into a racist tirade at the Laugh Factory (video). Perhaps he was trying to reinvent his career by turning into an edgy, foam-at-the-mouth comic… say stepping into Dave Chappelle’s shoes? Don’t even try. I think he’s just another washed-up sucka trying to make a buck.

Perhaps KKK Kramer should wear the Soup Nazi t-shirt?

Now an apology from Richards. Not good enough “cracker ass”, not good enough.

Someone call Jackie Chiles and sue his honkey behind.

Before WordPress blog adoption passes the half-million mark, I wanted to put on record the memorandumb blog was in the 465,000 set. If you don’t have a blog yet, consider getting one with WordPress. The only regret I have since starting on WordPress is that its begun to consume all my free time. MilliMilliMillions

“Thus YHWH spake: You shall not make wrongful use of the digital copyright (eventhough the bastards overcharged us for years)…

I. Moon Safari by Air

II. More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley

III. Mos’ Scocious by Dr. John

IV. Jazz Samba by Stan Getz

V. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett

VI. Cargo by Men at Work

VII. Chronic 2001 by Dr. Dre

VIII. 40oz. to Freedom by Sublime

IX. Garden State Soundtrack

X. WHAT’S YOUR COMMENT & ALBUM LINK FOR #10 ON THIS LIST?

Target remodeled and installed these slick LCD security panels. I thought this would make an interesting picture; the store clerk who reprimanded me thought otherwise. She was acting like I was the Inside Man, or that I’d Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Incidentally, that’s my Canon A95.

Puffy Stickers.

I love the fractal beauty of succulents. If you are thinking about adding their beauty to where you live, this illustrated succulents book may prove inspirational.

Have you seen Borat? They took a page right out of the Tom Green playbook. I say they should’ve called it Boorat!

Purportedly based on the “I Kiss You” Internet phenom Internet Mahir, or Mahir Cagri, the movie is as hilarious as it is disturbing. CNN has Cagri’s apology for the film and NPR has a response from the Khazakstani government.

Two Golden Globes?  Are you kidding me? I give it a thumbs down. What about you?

This just in… Sacha, Karma is calling for you. Payback’s a bitch isn’t it Borat?

P.S. – Have a look at the NEW memorandumb t-shirts in the left navigation. As Borat would say, “Some of them are very niiice.”

Or is it “bouquet”?  I don’t know.  Anyway, I shot this picture at a friend’s wedding in New Jersey. If you’re looking for flowers, I recommend Amazon’s ProFlowers, located in San Diego and shipping nationwide:

Buy: On Dozen Red Roses

Buy: One Dozen Red & White Roses

Better yet, save money and learn how to Design Flower Arrangements yourself.

A long time ago (ie. before digital cameras), my car insurance company (GEICO) sent a brochure encouraging me to keep a disposable camera in the car. I always thought it a good idea. Good thing I had my Canon handy when I was in this four car pile up! It was classic- the driver who hit me freaked out when I started snapping pics of the damage. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, although I was still a little shaky when I took this one of the police car.

I sat in on an amazing lecture today about the IPv6 and the Next Generation Internet. The presentation brought back memories of the first time I read about the Internet and the protocols we’re now all too familliar with (DNS, IP, http/s, ftp, gopher, etc).

If you are passionate about Net Neutrality, read up on what else is on the horizon . Some say new developments may render Net Neutrality moot. Many leading thinkers in America are concerned we’re falling behind. Where do you stand?

I just got More Adventurous by Rilo Kiley. I’ve been listening to them non-stop. Great band. I also just heard Nouvelle Vague on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast. They are in some distribution argument with their US publisher, so you can’t buy their stuff on Amazon. Memorandumb

I caught this inbound flight on my Canon one beautiful afternoon near Balboa Park in San Diego.